Starry Nights
by BoobsMcGee92
Summary: Welcome to the life of Fiona Black. Hardly normal on a good day, but now that her father has escaped Azkaban, she has begun to wonder if her life will ever return to normal. What secrets will she discover? Will she be able to keep her own secrets hidden?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary**: Welcome to the life of Fiona Black. Hardly normal on a good day, but now that her father has escaped Azkaban, she has begun to wonder if her life will ever return to normal. What secrets will she discover? And will she be able to keep her own secrets hidden? This story is slightly AU, with my OC, lots of Ginny, a bit of Draco, lots of Remus, and of course, Padfoot.

**Disclaimer**: I own none of this. If I did, then I would be the one rollin' in the mad cash. Instead, the greatness that is Missus J.K. Rowling is. Oh well, onward towards this meager fan's fiction.

**A/N**: Years ago I write on this site, but again, that's been years. Any errors are completely mine, and I'd love it if you pointed them out!

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**Prologue**

THE SUN HUNG bright, and promising in the sky on the afternoon of November 1st, 1989. Despite the fact that it was the middle of fall, the weather had chosen to be uncharacteristically warm and sunny - - not a single cloud hovered in the sky above London, making many people felt as though nothing, including the weather, could dampen the feeling of overjoyed relief that the wizarding world was feeling on this day. Voldemort had been defeated the previous night, by the unlikely candidate of a nineteen-month-old infant, Harry Potter. How could this be? No one was sure, although all of the wizards in London had their theories. Some said that Harry was predestined for greatness, given the Potter lineage. Others spoke of ancient magic, and Karma punishment having been in store for the dark wizard from the get-go. Hundreds of witches and wizards conspired their theories about what, exactly, had caused the wizard his demise - - but no one knew the truth. Despite the joyous celebrations happening this day, the fact remained that many lives had been destroyed on the night of October 31, 1989.

James and Lily Potter were dead, murdered by the dark lord who their son had destroyed by way of their sacrifice…not that anyone left alive was aware of this. Love carried its own magic, and Lily Potter had loved her son unyieldingly. She was the honest-to-Merlin reason why the wizarding world was no longer trapped under the dark lord's régime, although her sacrifice was unrealized by most. In addition, Molly Weasley had lost two of her most beloved brothers, Gideon and Fabian. Dozens of Voldemort's solders had cornered them, and - - recognizing the situation they were in - - chose to make their final stand without fear. Yes, the Prewett twins were dead, but so were almost a quarter of the dark lord's puppets. Of course, there were in no was the only lives touched by the hand of Fate on that fateful Halloween night. As in all wars, lives are lost.

A prime example of a life being lost, could be found in one, Sirius Black.

"He had always been a devoted friend, that Sirius Black. Who would have ever imagined! Selling out the Potter's like he had…James had been like a brother to him!"

Those words were said again, and again on that bright November day. Sirius Black - - the maniac! - - had been chased down by quite little Peter Pettigrew, who was grief stricken over the loss of James and Lily. Poor Peter never stood a chance against the experienced Arour, is what they all said after the fact. Sirius blew Peter up, along with thirteen innocent muggles, and an entire London block. When Ministry officials apprehended the - - obviously insane - - man, who had until that point, been the head of the Arour department at the ministry, all that they could find of poor little Peter was one single finger. How brutal, really.

Times were dark though, and although Voldemort had been confirmed as dead, Aurors were still scrambling to apprehend the remaining Death Eaters before they were given the chance to re-group their forces. Because of this panic, no trials were given to the accused 'dark wizards'. Rumor was twisted and tangled from person to person, and then handed to Ministry officials; who would then rubber stamp the rubbish and file it away under the false pretense of 'truth'. This was how the wizarding world came to fear Sirius Black, and believe his as being one of the most murderous wizard in all of London - - possible in the entire world. No one seemed to care that the Sirius that they had attended school with and worked alongside of would never - - could never - - betray tow of his best friends, as well as sentence his own godson to what should have been his own execution. Indeed, times were dark.

As Sirius Black spent those first early hours in Azkaban Prison, huddled against the cold, and the dementors that stood guard over him - - who promised unspeakable terrors in that strange, strangled speech of theirs - - he was unaware of many things. For example, the man did not know that his beloved godson was at that very moment being sent to live with Lily's horrible muggle sister and her hateful family. Of course, he would have assumed this, had it not been for the fact that not only did Harry Potter have a godfather, but a godmother as well. This brings us, to number two on the list of things that Sirius Black was unaware of, as he bathed himself in sorrow in the depths of Azkaban. Although young Harry _had _a godmother…as of 9:08AM on the aforementioned bright and sunny morning of November the first, he no longer _has_ one. But Sirius had no way of knowing this, because he was also unaware of the fact that as of that same time, on that same day, he had become a father. Furthermore, the man did not know that while he was just beginning his life-long sentence at the prison, his unknown daughter had been born two and-a-half months premature, and that her mother - - the only woman that Sirius had ever honestly loved - - had bled out shortly after the complicated delivery.

Amelia Dawn Lupin was dead before her daughter had been fully cleaned of her own birth fluid. The too-small wriggling form seemed to be somewhat predestined for a terribly hard life, or at least that was the only clear thought currently going through her only surviving relative's head. Remus Lupin had never really considered himself to be the father type; he wasn't even sure that he should be allowed to try to be a father. But, as he sat there holding his tiny niece for the first time as nurses threw a sheet over his little sister's lifeless body, he realized that he was really the only person in the world that she had. As the nurse finished filling out the infant's chart, she asked Remus what the baby's name would be. Suddenly, he realized just how accurate his previous thoughts had been. Remus licked his paper-dry lips, and readjusted his niece's small form, so that she was now positioned upon his shoulder.

"Fiona," he said decisively. "Fiona Mae Black." The nurse looked at him sharply, and with a look of resigned horror growing on her face. "But sir - -" the nurse started, but Remus just solemnly shook his head at her. "It's the name that her mother would have wanted for her, recent events be damned." Even if Sirius had betrayed two of their dearest friends, he had not always been evil. Amelia had loved him, regardless of the things that had transpired between them. She would not hide who her daughter really was, so neither would her brother.

Remus patted the back of his softly snoring niece, as the still skeptical nurse walked out of the room, softly muttering about unfit parents. As the door shut behind her, Remus stood, gently swaying to sooth Fiona's slight fussing. Walking to the window, he looked down and towards the visible entrance of the Leakey Cauldron. People were rushing in and out of the entrance, and Remus was sure that so many witches and wizards had not been seen out strolling for at least the past year. Yes, the wizarding world had been saved, but at what price? Remus was alone once more - -

No, a voice inside his head reminded him. You have Fiona now, and just as you are all that she has. Remus smiled as the thought registered more solidly upon his mind, and he looked at the sleeping infant in his arms. "Sweet Pea, I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you this, but I think that you may well be stuck with me." The words were said softly into the girl's thick, already half wild hair. However, it didn't escape the man's notice that when he laid a gently kiss to her temple one miniscule fist was brought up to his own hair, and firmly tangled itself around one of his own stray locks of hair.

THIRTEEN YEARS LATER a haggard man sat, leaning against the bars of the cage that held him. A lonesome ray of light stretched through the only window that ornamented the prison cell, almost making the man smile at its welcome warmth. Sirius Black stretched his once-muscular arms, which had grown weak from lack of use, above his head. Yawning, he turned towards the bars at his back, and surveyed the cellblock in front of him. Prison cells stretched along the walls as far as he could see, each one more woe-be-gone than the last. His own cell, number 667, was located in the ward of Azkaban dedicated to the 'criminally insane'. This section of cells warranted the highest level of security, meaning that the majority of the dementors were stationed there. Yes, Sirius thought tiredly. 'Criminally insane' described his personality to a tee. And it certainly might, if he had indeed committed the crimes that he had been imprisoned for; and of course, if he did not have the ability to take on his other from: Padfoot. There was absolutely no doubt in Sirius's mind that if he were not an - - thankfully unregistered - - animagus, than his mind would have left him years ago.

Suddenly, Sirius was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of the cellblock's gates churning open, and footsteps approaching. He straightened, craning his neck to see which ministry official was paying Azkaban one of its seldom visits.

"Well minister," this was the unmistakable booming-voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt. "As you can see, the prisoners as all quite insane, so I really do not see any reason to upset them with your presence."

Once upon a lifetime ago, Kingsley had been Sirius's second-in-command in the Arour department. Now it seemed as though the man had been demoted a few times, seeing as he was the person in charge of regulating visitors in and out of the prison.

"Be that as it may Mr. Scattleblot - -"

"It is Shacklebolt, sir - -"

"Yes, yes, yes, of course. Nevertheless, I would still like to see for myself what state the inmates are in. It's kind of a part of standard procedure, as I am sure you know." This voice made a deep scowl set into Sirius's face; he had instantly recognized it as belonging to Cornelius Fudge, the so-called, Minister of Magic. Their footsteps finally reached the threshold of cell 666, which was located directly in front of Sirius's cell. The two officials stood there for a moment and discussed the current state of it's unfortunate evil soul, who was curled into the fetal position and humming what to Sirius's ears sounded like, Hells Bells. Odd. Sirius surveyed their backs for a moment, before his eyes landed on the newspaper curled in the minister's fist, and he chose to speak.

"Oi, minister, spare me that paper?" The two men started at the voice, and spun around quickly to find the origin of the voice. As Sirius's eyes locked into a gaze with the minister's, the man before him visibly paled and swallowed with a chocked sound.

"Sirius Black? Wha….?" Fudge seemed to have lost the ability to speak at the moment, so the other man elaborated on his request.

"The paper? In your hand? I haven't had anything good to read in ages, and one can only count the number of bricks in the wall for so long." Fudge glared a bit at his tone, and flexed the hand holding onto said paper, easing it out of the white-knuckled grip it had assumed. He pulled a face, somewhere between incredulousness and embarrassment, and held the paper out to the inmate.

"Yes, of course, of course. Enjoy it, there are a few interesting comics towards the back; I myself found them quite amusing…" His voice trailed off, and giving Sirius - - who was resisting the urge to roll his eyes - - a curt nod, he and the silent Kingsley left the cellblock, each walking at a slightly rushed pace.

Sirius readjusted his position against the wall, and with a small, bemused smile - - more of a smirk - - he unrolled the newspaper in his hands. He scanned the front page quickly, gathering that stocks were up, intelligence was down, and the Daily Prophet was indeed still printing the same garbage they had been thirteen years prior. His eyes then fell on a picture of a family that he had once been on fairly good terms with. It seemed as though the Weasley's were doing fairly well, judging by the article. Arthur had been promoted, and the family had won a free trip to Egypt. He scanned the moving picture trying to determine whether or not they had added any more children to their clan - - which they had - - and his heart nearly stopped beating. Here, the usually unaware Sirius Black became painfully aware of two epic facts. The first was that not only was Peter Pettigrew still alive - - and perhaps even kicking - - but the little rat-bastard was perched upon the shoulder of Arthur Weasley's youngest son! Although Peter was in his anamigus form, Sirius would still have recognized the treacherous little piece of filth anywhere. As his eyes continued to sweep across the article, he read off the names of the people shown in the picture. From left: Arthur Weasley 42, wife Molly 42, twin sons Fred and George 15, youngest son Ronald 13, daughter Ginny12, 'surrogate' daughter Fiona Black 12. Sirius held his breath. Fiona Black? Fiona Black. But there were no more Blacks! With Regulus dead and him imprisoned, there were no more Blacks to speak of. Unless…

Sirius examined the girl in the picture. She and the Weasley girl were standing slightly apart from the rest of the family, and they each had an arm slung across the other's shoulder. The Weasley girl - - Ginny? - - was laughing, and Fiona could be seen whispering something to her causing it. She herself wore a huge grin, and her eyes - - no, Sirius thought with a growing numbness, HIS eyes - -were dancing with mirth. Her hair was well past her shoulders, and it hung in wild chestnut waves. She was a bit taller than the other girl, but could not have possibly been above five feet and inch or two. She was slender, but she already had curves. She was wearing worn jeans with the knees blown out, and a black shirt with thin straps. Looking at her face, Sirius's head began to spin. Although he was looking at his eyes in this girl's face, he was also looking at the lips, cheekbones and nose of Amelia Lupin.

Sirius sat back heavily, and laid the newspaper aside for a moment. When he read the girl's name underneath the picture, Sirius allowed himself a bit of skepticism. But, after examining the picture and being met with his own eyes, and the face of the woman Sirius had loved so long ago…there was no doubt left in his mind. Sirius had a daughter, and her name was Fiona. He had to see her! He had to speak with her! What was she like? Did she hate him? Did she even know about him? As Sirius wondered about the enigma of his daughter, wheels began to turn in his head - - a plan had formed. He would escapee Azkaban, and he would find the damnable little rat. Then, his name would be cleared, and he would be free to know Fiona Black.

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**A/N**: So there's the prologue. Chapter One will be up shortly. Also, please do review. I need to keep my lil' inspiration bunnies a-hoppin', and for that I require food-for-thought. Love it, hate it? Lemmie know! Just click that little button…coz you know you wanna…'click'….'click'…'click'…do it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary**: Welcome to the life of Fiona Black. Hardly normal on a good day, but now that her father has escaped Azkaban, she has begun to wonder if her life will ever return to normal. What secrets will she discover? And will she be able to keep her own secrets hidden? This story is slightly AU, with my OC, lots of Ginny, a bit of Draco, lots of Remus, and of course, Padfoot.

**Disclaimer**: I own none of this. If I did, then I would be the one rollin' in the mad cash. Instead, the greatness that is Missus J.K. Rowling is. Oh well, onward towards this meager fan's fiction!

**N/A**: From this point on, I think that the story will be told primarily from Fiona's PoV. However, if this changes - - which it might - - then I will make it damn clear for all ye readers. Also, PoA was my favorite book, just as Sirius is my favorite character. As such, here's for trying to do them both justice!

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**Chapter One: The Train**

FIONA BLACK SWORE loudly as she slammed the empty compartment's door shut behind her. She was angry, which had become a very familiar thing for the twelve year old. It wouldn't be long before other students began to arrive, a thing that the girl wasn't entirely happy about. It had been almost two months since the first report had come out about her father's escape from the wizard prison, Azkaban. Now, everywhere she went - - everywhere she looked - - there were wanted posters with her own eyes staring back at her. Sure, she had always known that her father was a murderer. But knowing about it, and having it thrown at your face every day were two entirely different things...

Fiona sighed, as she looked down at her oversized purple trunk. It was a beast of a thing, and had been a gift from her Uncle Remus for her tenth birthday. She and her uncle always had projects going; things that they could do together, just to pass the time, that would give them an excuse to stay up late and eat too much Chinese food. The trunk was done a few days before she had left for her first year at Hogwarts. Remus changed it from a large oak chest, to a purple one, with silver hardware, and an enlargement spell on the inside. Now, Fiona had yet to find a single thing that didn't fit in the chest. Although, she had never tried to fit a car in it, she mused. Their most recent project had been a gigantic mural painted on their living room wall, which had affectionately been dubbed 'free love on acid'. The mural had taken months to complete, and had been painted to the soundtrack of Jefferson Airplane, Stevie Nicks, and her uncle's all-time favorite band, Led Zeppelin. That one had just been finished shortly before her trip to Egypt with the Weasley's that summer, and it remained to be her favorite project to date. Their first ever project had been the half-tree house located on the furthest side of their property, on the tree closest to the Weasley's. Over the years, it had become her and Ginny's sacred place. If ever one or the other couldn't sleep, or needed to talk, they would walk quietly to the tree, usually finding that the other was already there, waiting. Yes, the tree house was a godsend for the two girls, especially since last year, and the Chamber of Secrets.

The girl scowled and lifted the heavy trunk, heaving it over her head and shoving it onto the luggage rack above. Puffing out a breath, Fiona threw herself onto the nearest seat and grabbed her messenger bag. It was a black jean bag, with mismatched bright patches scattered across the front flap and band pins covering the strap. After digging around inside of the bag for a moment, she finally pulled out a small pink walkman, with M & M headphones. Sitting back, she placed the ear buds on her ears and selected a random playlist. Fiona looked at her watch, and seeing that it was only nine-twenty, she leaned against the window and closed her eyes. Other students would be arriving soon, and Fiona wanted her peace while it lasted. Although the train hadn't even left the station yet, Fiona knew that this year was going to be just as fuck as the previous one had been; she could feel it in her bones.

THOSE AREN'T GINNY'S eyes. This was the only coherent thought in Fiona's head as she stood across from her redheaded friend. At least, Fiona thought it was Ginny. As she allowed herself to glance around the dark chamber, Fiona found herself to be questioning just who was who as her gaze locked with Ginny's. Or maybe it was Tom's…sure the body was that of her small, freckled best friend, but those eyes - - they were quite evil. Fiona stood knee-deep in old water; before her was Ginny and what was apparently Voldemort's teenage self. Or, at least, his image…he didn't look very corporal to her, but it seemed like ever second he was becoming a bit more solid. As she stood there, she felt as though she herself was petrified. Her body was numb, but it was coiled in anticipation. Just as the silence of the chamber became too much, Tom Riddle spoke.

"Your mother was a muddblood, wasn't she Fiona?" The boy smirked as he said this.

"Rot in hell, you little sod." Fiona steeled herself, locking her jaw and moving into a dueling stance. She didn't know what blow she was bracing against, but she knew for certain that a blow would be coming. In front of her, Tom Riddle's image seethed, and then smirked.

"Tell me Fiona, do you know what a Basilisk is?"

SOMEWHERE, VOLDEMORT WAS laughing. At least, that's what Fiona thought as she opened her eyes and sat up. Cheeky little bastard… She sat there for a moment rubbing her eyes, before she realized that not a full twenty minutes had passed since she had apparently fallen asleep. How is that even possible, she thought angrily. Nightmares should take longer than twenty minutes to play out, shouldn't they? The compartment door sliding open with too much force, and a petite redhead walking through the door cut off her thoughts. She slammed the door behind her, and practically threw her small brown trunk onto the luggage rack. The girl then threw herself down on the bench opposite her best friend, and smiled through her anger.

"Hullo." Ginny Weasley said with a small smile.

"Hey there." Fiona surveyed the girl, trying to gauge her emotions.

"Traveling through the barrier of the platform felt so many kinds of wrong without you." Ginny was now inspecting her nails, closely. Fiona decided to play along with her game.

"I know, didn't it?"

"Let's just like, NOT do it that way again, okay? Agreed?" Ginny was now tugging at her slightly frizzy hair.

"Mhmm, completely agreed. I'll grab the ledger later, and put it down as an official rule." Fiona smirked at her friend.

"You know Fi, you look a bit like Malfoy when you smirk like that? It's a bit unnerving really, although I'll bet he'd find it pretty cute…" Ginny giggled at Fiona's deadpan look.

"That is just…so funny Gin. Really, hilarious. But, anyways! How have you been? I haven't seen you in what, a day and a half?" Fiona and Remus had spent the night in muggle London, after spending a very late night out on the town catching various movies and discovering an all-age club that had looked harmless enough. While there, Remus had apparently drank more than he had originally intended, because he had been too inebriated to apperate them back home. No, Fiona didn't plan on living that night down for a very long time.

"Well, things have been fairly normal. Not normal-normal, of course. The family still seems to believe me to be made of bloody glass. Do you know, Ron made me fight him to drag my own trunk along? The bloody oaf! I can carry my own damn trunk, you know? I just wish that they'd all keep their noses out of my business and, I don't know, pretend that the Chamber didn't happen." Ginny was staring sullenly out of the window as she spoke, quietly, but angry. Outside on the platform, Fiona could just barely see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley waving at the train as it lurched forward and began to roll out of the station. Fiona looked towards her friend, and her heart ached as she saw the pain in her eyes that Ginny had become so good at hiding.

"Ginny - -"

The compartment door sliding open once again cut off Fiona's words; this time when she turned towards the door, a look of surprise flashed across her face. Standing there, looking impeccable and more than a bit arrogant, was Draco Malfoy. He looked around the compartment, his face remaining impassive. He looked at Ginny, and the towards Fiona; here his eyes stayed for a moment.

"Black."

"Draco. How was your summer?" Fiona had never really been able to achieve the same level of dislike for the boy that the rest of her friends managed. It must be his hair, she mused to herself. She always had loved long hair. Draco's white blond locks fell nearly to his shoulders.

"A fair sight better than yours, I'd wager. Tell me, how does it feel to have your murderous daddy running rampant around London?"

The boy did not smirk as he said this, just looked closely at her face. Probably to gauge her reaction, Fiona thought. She was a bit shocked at his words. Why was he being a git? They had parted at the end of the year on good enough terms. No, her and Draco had never really been 'friends', but they had been always been 'friendly'. They had met the year a few years before she started Hogwarts, in the United States. Remus and Draco's father had both been attendance to the same wizarding seminar, and she and the blond boy had crossed paths. Initially, Fiona had somewhat hated him, blackening his eye and spitting on his shoe, while cursing him to hell. They had spent time together though, and realized that neither one was too terrible to be around. Some said that they had even kissed, but neither one had ever commented about it.

Fiona sighed, and glanced beside her at Ginny. She looked a bit murderous, but much like Fiona, she had been angry lately, too. Understandably too, Fiona thought to herself. She looked back at the blond boy, who was still standing in the door way, still looking so hard at her. Again, Fiona sighed, as she pulled herself up and to her full height. From there, Draco was still almost a half foot taller than her. She sauntered over to him, and looked him in the eye.

"Malfoy, I don't know what's crawled up your scrawny little ass, but listen up. Do not talk about my father. Not to me, and not around me. Beyond that, I can't stop you. But if I hear a single damn word about it cross your lips, I will hex you blood head off! Do you understand that?" Behind Draco, his two loyal cronies had appeared. As Fiona spoke, her volume had increased - - as it usually did. Students had opened their compartment doors, trying to see who was fighting. Behind Draco, the two boys made 'ooh'-ing sounds. Malfoy looked at them, and then back to Fiona, and smirked.

"What, are you actually going to do something about it muddblood? Oh Merlin, no, please don't hurt me!" Malfoy made a few exaggerated gestures, and around him his fellow Slytherins laughed. Fiona felt the thread of anger growing inside of her, and she silently pleaded to the blond boy. Please Malfoy, I really do like you…don't make me do this. Suddenly, he made as if to reach for his wand, but Fiona was faster.

"_Impedimenta_!" Fiona cried at Draco, who was thrown back against the compartment door across the hall. Around them, the train seemed to take a collective breath, as students looked on at the scene with awe. Draco sat there motionless for a moment, before scrambling to his feet and firing back.

"_Locomortor Mortis_!" Draco shouted, whipping his wand around with a look of absolute fury on his face. Fiona dodged the spell easily.

"_Sectumsempra_!" After the spell was cast, it felt for a moment as if the world had stopped moving. Fiona looked around the train, trying to understand why the world had stopped making noise. Fiona slowly realized that everyone was staring at her stomach. She looked down, and realized dumbly that the wound hadn't hurt until she saw it. The spell that Draco had cast - - whatever it was - - had left a deep cut in Fiona's abdomen. Blood was flowing freely from the wound, and as Fiona reached down to run a suddenly cold fingertip across the wound, sound returned to the world.

"Oh f-fuck." She heard Malfoy say, his voice cracking. She looked up at him, their eyes meeting briefly.

"Oh my god, Fiona! Someone, go get Professor Lupin, he sound be on the train somewhere. GO!" That was Ginny, coming out of her, and instructing someone to find her best friend's uncle, who had been hired as the new DADA professor. Ginny knelt down in front of her best friend, closely inspecting the wound that spanned the length of her friend's stomach. She looked up, and her eyes met those of her best friend's.

"It's bad Fi." There's Ginny for you; always honest. "Draco." Ginny looked sharply at the blond boy, whose face was threatening to crumble. "Yeah…?" He replied weakly. "Gimmie your shirt." He looked at the redhead for a moment. "Now!" Ginny said, in a voice that Ginny had heard a mollion times on her mother. The thought was almost enough to make her smile. Quickly, the Slytheren stripped the garment off and handed it to her. Ginny folded it a few times, and looked at Fiona. "You need to lay down." Quickly, Draco walked fully into the compartment and grabbed Fiona's hand - - taking her by surprise, and leading her to the bench seat. Suddenly, Ginny was there again. Now it seemed like Fiona was losing time. There was Pressure on her stomach, she thought, but the wound seemed to have gone numb. Her vision was starting to darken. "Fiona! C'mon babe, stay with me! Malfoy, be useful and talk to her! Harry, Ron, figure out where in the hell Lupin is, _now_!" Ginny seemed to be feeling like her old self, Fiona thought airily. Her vision began to darken again, and then Draco was there. He was saying something, possibly everything, but Fiona could hardly make heads or tails of it. Why was he talking about 'surry'? Wait, no, not surry…Draco was saying sorry. Over and over, he kept repeating the word, as if by saying it enough would cause him to undo what he had done. Finally, Fiona's world went entirely dark.

IN THE DEPTHS of the tunnels behind her, the Basilisk hissed. Fiona had ran as fast as her legs would carry her through the water drowned tunnels of the chamber, and she had finally been able to lose the great serpent. Now, she stood pressed against the wall of a tunnel, as she strained her ears for any sound that would alert her to the Basilisk's whereabouts. In her hand, she clutched the sword of Gryffindoor. It's jewel encrusted handle glittered, despite the absence of light. Fiona was half terrified that it's shininess would somehow tip-off the snake to her location. Fiona drew in a great shuddering breath as she heard hissing just a short way away from her. Here we go again, Fiona thought absently, as she drove out of the small tunnel she had been hiding in, and directly in front of the Basilisk. She felt the snake coil as if to attack, and without thinking twice about it, she lunged forward and attacked first. As she plunged the sword up to it's hilt into the snake's face, she turned it, and with as much force as her small form could muster, she drug the weapon through so much skin and bone.

Fiona withdrew the sword, and then ran faster than she had ever thought to be possible. She wondered for a moment, how well would the Basilisk be able to track her without the use of its eyes? As she ran, Fiona sent out a small prayer for Ginny. Hang in there please, Gin. We will fix this, I promise.

SHOUTING AWOKE FIONA from of her second nap of the day. Did it still count as a nap, if you technically passed out? Wait, Uncle Remus? She stirred, and tried to sit up, but suddenly, a hand was on her shoulder, keeping her from doing so. She looked up, into the face of the only family that she had ever really had.

"Man, Mooney, you look like shit!" And he did. Although the man had started the day off looking fairly handsome, he now looked worse he usually did after the full moon. Her exclamation was met with an eye-roll from her uncle, and a snort from her best friend. Shifting slightly so that she could see past her uncle, Fiona saw that the compartment that had started out as being fairly empty, was now terribly full. Remus stood hovering in front of her, and Ginny was sitting on the end of the same bench as Fiona, whose feet were draped across her lap. Behind Remus, stood Harry Potter, Hermoine Granger, and Ginny's slightly older brother, Ron. These three had become what Ginny and her privately considered the Golden Trio…except for on bad days, in which case they were always 'those buggers!'. Next to the threesome was Luna Lovegood, whom Fiona and Ginny had grown quite close to the previous year. Lastly, standing as near to the door as he could possibly be without actually leaving, was Draco. Although he was leaning semi-causally against the compartment's door, Fiona could see through the façade that he wore so well. The boy was terrified, and judging by the way that his eyes kept snaking over to Fiona, he was a bit concerned too. Aw, how sweet - - or at least it would be if he hadn't been the one responsible for her damage.

"Tell me Fiona, how do you feel? I healed the wound to the best of my abilities, but - - well, your mother was always better at that sort of magic than I was. Am. Anyway, do you feel any pain?" Fiona, with the unnecessary help of her worried uncle, sat up and put her feet on the floor. Instantly, she was hit with a wave of nausea, but she tried not to let her face show it. She sat for a moment while trying to gather her bearings a bit, before she realized that other than the nausea and a slight cramping feeling in her stomach, she felt fine.

"Um, I think that I'm fine. There's a bit of a pinch-y feeling around my stomach, but other than that everything feels pretty normal." Remus studied her face for a moment, before nodding. "Well," Remus said as he turned to the blond boy at the door. "Then you are a very lucky man Mr. Malfoy. You nearly killed another student! When we arrive at the castle, you will report directly to the headmaster. Honestly, I do not know what so of discipline this sort of behavior warrants, but I can assure you: it will not be kind." As the older man said the last, Fiona caught the malevolent twinkle that his eyes held.

Suddenly, she felt a bit bad for the boy. Sure he had almost killed her, but…she had started it, hadn't she? Maybe. Fiona thought quickly over their fight, and although she was still genuinely angry at him for the comment about her father, she had threatened him. Would she have acted differently if she had been in his position? Probably. But then, she didn't take being threatened well either. Finally coming to a conclusion, Fiona turned to her uncle.

"Uncle Remus, I think that I had better go with him to the headmaster's office." Fiona tried to wear a neutral expression as she said this. All heads turned back to her. The trio's faces showed their confusion at her, and Remus wore a similar expression - - although his eyes made it clear for her to see that he was trying to figure out what she was up to. However, Ginny and Draco were a bit quicker on the uptake. Ginny looked disbelieving - - and a bit pissed - - as she begun to gesture widely to the side of Remus's line of vision. Fiona shoot her a pleading look, hoping to plicate her. Draco's façade had cracked around the edges, and he now wore a look of mild shock - - his eyes had brightened though, and as their gaze locked across the compartment, Fiona saw the faintest glimmer of hope laying there.

"Fiona, I don't think - -" Remus's words were abruptly cut off, as the train suddenly lurched forward and came to a stop. For a moment, everyone in the compartment just looked at one another. Hermione - - never short of words - - was the first to speak. "The train has stopped." All eyes turned to Hermione. "No, really?" Two voices said this, and in the silence that followed, Fiona and Draco glared daggers at each other. Beside her, Ginny heaved a sigh, but spoke in an anxious voice. "Don't you think you should go see what's going on, _Professor_?" Remus looked embarrassed for a moment. "Right, I am the only teacher riding the train to school, aren't I? Be back in a moment." He slightly knocked into the Slytherin boy with his shoulder as he stood aside to let the older man pass.

Fiona grinned, as she pictured what she thought her uncle would have been like at her age. The image of a young boy with her uncle's too-long hair and baggy robes popped into her head. Fiona stifled a giggle, and turned to look at Draco. "Why don't you sit down Malfoy? Or are you too afraid that the position would cause that giant stick up your arse to get lodged?" Fiona grinned cheekily at him as she said this, enjoying the slight pink twinge that rose to his cheeks and the scowl that landed back on his face. He walked over to the bench she was sitting on, and scooted as far from her as was possible. The trio across from her glared daggers at the boy sitting next to her; Ginny was the first to break the silence.

"As riveting as all of this silence is, why do you think the train has stopped?" She looked at the other quizzically. "Well," Draco started, "it probably has to do with Black." All eyes turned to Draco. Fiona and Ginny glared. "What, pray tell, the bloody hell would the train stopping have to do with me?" Fiona locked her jaw in anger; _don't push it blond boy, I'm planning on helping you_, she thought. Beside her, Draco rolled his eyes. "Not YOU - - Merlin you're daft sometimes! Your dad. Maybe they think he's on the train." Across from them, Ron and Harry were looking angry. "Why in the hell would they have stopped the train for that?" Ron said. "It isn't like one of us is hiding him in our pockets!" Harry spoke next. "Malfoy, why would you think that Black would be going to Hogwarts? What do you know?" _Good Lord, that boy is paranoid!_ Fiona thought, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "Well," Draco said flatly, "I know that his daughter is sitting next to me." Fiona glared at him. _And there it is_, she thought angrily. _Back to where we started this morning_.

Just as she was about to tell him off, for the second time that day, a chill ran along her spine. A small noise to her left caused her to turn, and her eyes landed on Ginny. The girl was so pale that her small scattering of freckles appeared to be floating over her face. Another noise caused her to look across the compartment, just in time to see Harry lose consciousness and fall from his seat. As Fiona attempted to gather her wiits, Ginny began to cry. Suddenly, Fiona heard it.

Tom Riddle was laughing.

The world became cold around her - - colder than the deepest freeze, or the coldest night - - as Fiona fought to ignore the laughter, and ignore the words that were being whispered through her mind. _What in the fucking hell was going on?_ She thought furiously. His voice. She realized that she wasn't actually hearing it. Tom Riddle hadn't returned! She was imagining it! All at once, Fiona realized what was happening. The cold, her worst fear, Ginny crying, Harry passing out - - everything made sense now. Fiona jumped to her feet, surprising Draco and the two thirds of the trio that were still conscious, just as the door to their compartment was flung open. Fiona readied herself, as the creature in front of her glided into the doorway. Hovering in the air before her, was the foulest creature that she had ever laid eyes on. It was inhumanly tall, towering above her by at least five feet. It wore tattered black robs, with a hood that swallowed it's whole face - - if it has a face, that is. The skin on the long hand that it extended towards Fiona was graying, with large patches flaking off. As Fiona sucked in a breath, she was caught unaware by the pungent odor emitting from the thing - - it smelled like death itself. In front of her, the creature drew a shuddering breath, while behind her, Ginny screamed.

Fiona raised her wand, literally, trying to think happy thoughts. _There_, _that might work_, she thought with a grim smile. It was a long-shot, but - -

"_Expecto Patronum_!" As Fiona screamed the incantation that she had only ever read about, a jet of white light shot out of the tip of her wand, which rushed at the dementor in front of her. Waves of the bright light surged out of her wand, and after the third one hit the creature square in the chest, the fourth wave brought with it the form of a dragon. It was a regal creature, with hollow eyes and spikes trailing down the length of its tail. As the massive dragon flew at its prey, the creature fled. The dragon, however, followed it, tailed closely by Fiona. With each train compartment that her patronus passed by, dementors fled into the hallway, and then further out into the night. Fiona ran to the train's door, and jerked it open, ignoring the protests of the train's attendants. She leaned as far out as her arms would allow her, watching in amazement as she watched the dragon chase the dementors, repelling them further and further into the night. Finally, when she could no longer see the bright dragon, she turned, shaking her head with a disbelieving smile on her face, and walked back to the compartment to check on her best friend.

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**A/N**: Blam! Chapter one, bitches! LOL So what did we think? No reviews from the prologue, which is a bit discouraging. This one was sortta long, yeah? Something that maybe I should clear up: The spell that Draco used on Fiona was the one that Harry discovered in the potions book he used in his 6th year, and later used to curse Draco with. I think that the spell was described as causing a wound very similar to that which a sword might leave. Also, I haven't made it very clear yet - - coz Fiona herself doesn't know - - but he (Draco) didn't know what the incantation was going to do. He'd just heard it talked about in passing, and remembered it. Make sense enough? Aight…please, please, please review! I could use the encouragement. Or lack thereof, whatever. Chapter Two should follow pretty soon; this story has been stuck in my head for long enough that it is - - more or less - - writing itself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary**: Welcome to the life of Fiona Black. Hardly normal on a good day, but now that her father has escaped Azkaban, she has begun to wonder if her life will ever return to normal. What secrets will she discover? And will she be able to keep her own secrets hidden? This story is slightly AU, with my OC, lots of Ginny, a bit of Draco, lots of Remus, and of course, Padfoot.

**Disclaimer**: I own none of this. If I did, then I would be the one rollin' in the mad cash. Instead, the greatness that is Missus J.K. Rowling is. Oh well, onward towards this meager fan's fiction!

**A/N**: So what's going to happen to Draco? Anyone think Fiona's going to intervene? Enjoy!

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**Chapter Two: The Aftermath **

THE SORTING FEAST took entirely too long, at least that's how it felt to Fiona. Everywhere around her, students were smiling and laughing. Summer had drug on forever, and most students were thrilled to be back at school, and surrounded by their friends. However, Fiona and her best friend Ginny seemed to be exempt from the excitement. Ginny, was of course still reeling from the traumatizing experience that had been her first year at school. And this was also part of Fiona's dismay at being back at Hogwarts. More than that though, was the thee matter of her father being at large. Since Fiona had started the train ride in seclusion, save for Ginny's company, she had been spared the accusing stares and rude whispers. Now as she sat in the Great Hall, half-heartedly picking at her mashed potatoes, Fiona was finding it nearly impossible to ignore the attention. Every house table was swapping the newest gossip about her father's whereabouts, the talk occasionally coupled with a look in her direction; some students even had the gall to point her out to others.

Fiona sighed, and shot a look at the silent Ginny. "Gin, this is bloody ridiculous." Fiona spoke in a low voice, trying her best to not give the students any more fodder for ridiculing her. Ginny sent a sympathetic look at her friend, as she sat the biscuit she had been picking at down. "I know, Fi. It'd be amazing if people would just mind their own damn business for once, wouldn't it?" The girls grinned at each other, and instantly the tension that they had both been feeling dissipated. They each scooted closer to the table, and began to discuss what classes they were taking, who was dating who, and of course Hogsmead. When Ron had starteed lording the fact that he would be going to the infamous wizarding village and Ginny would not over her head, the girls had begun to plan. It just seemed a bit wrong to them, that first and second year students weren't allowed to make the trips. Really, who decided these things? Now Fiona was determined to find a way to go to the village, regardless of the means.

The girls were pulled out of their conversation, by the appearance of the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and their head-of-house, Professor McGonagle. She stood behind Fiona, and pointedly cleared her throat. "Hello miss Black, miss Weasley." The stern woman regarded the two girls with a slight inclination of her head and a small smile. "Miss Black, the Headmaster requests you at his office after you have finished your dinner. You know what this is about." Professor McGonagle and Fiona made eye contact, holding each other's gazes until the older witch finally looked away. "Have a good evening miss Weasley." And with that, the woman headed back to the staff table. The two friends looked at each other with bewildered expressions. "Well," Ginny said, "she was a bit cold." Fiona nodded her agreement. Her and the Gryffendoor heard of house had never been close, but they had always been at least friendly. _"_I wonder if she's angry about what happened on the train." Ginny snorted loudly. "I think she may be a bit more pissed about what she thinks you're going to do, than about what you have already done." Fiona looked at her friend quizzically. "What are you on about Giin? What is it that McGonagle thinks I am going to do?" Ginny stopped toying with the fork she had been scraping along her plat, to roll her eyes Fiona. "She thinks you are going to do exactly what you're planning on doing, Fi! I know why you told Remus you wanted to be there when Dumbledoor speaks to Malfoy." Fiona deadpanned at her redheaded friend. There was _no_ way that Ginny knew what Fiona planned on doing; Fiona herself wasn't even sure about it yet!

"Gin…I don't know what to tell you. I know that what Draco did was completely uncalled for, and almost killed me, but - - I don't know. I'm not angry about it, because really it was my own fault - -" Fiona was cut off by an indignant Ginny. "You're mental! How in the hell was that little stunt your fault?" Fiona struggled to voice her thoughts to her friend. "I threatened him, Gin - - and then I humiliated him. Other than the spell being uncommonly nasty, the boy didn't do anything that I wouldn't have done!" Fiona threw a pleading look at her friend, as she stood from the table and began to walk away. "I'll see you later Gin, we can talk more tonight."

FIONA AND DRACO sat in two over-large leather wingback chairs. In front of them, seated behind his desk, was Albus Dumblledoor, Headmaster off Hogwarts. The ancient wizard stroked a hand through his three-foot-long white beard, as he regarded the children in front of him. To either side of the Headmaster, stood Professors McGonagle and Snape. The two heads of houses were alternating between shooting contemptuous looks at each other, and then at their students. The last person in the room was Remus, Hogwarts newest professor. The man sat quietly, with his chin propped on his fist. Even though he sat half in shadow, Fiona could tell that something was slightly off. With a start, his niece realized for the first time just how angry he was. _That isn't good_, the girl thought. _That isn't good in the slightest_. Finally, after a silence that seemed to drag one forever, the headmaster spoke.

"Miss Black, there is some rather impressive talk circulating throughout the school about you tonight." The old man spoke lightly, but his eyes were trained to the girl's face. Fiona replied, slightly confused. Which part was impressive? The part where she kicked Draco's ass, or the part where he returned the favor tenfold? "I'm not sure that I understand what you're referring to, sir." The old man made a sweeping gesture. "You're Patronus, my dear. Most - - nay I say all - - witches your age would not have been able to say the incantation, much less conjure even a wisp of smoke. From what I've been told, not only did you perfectly perform the spell, you also conjured a complete Partonus. A dragon, I believe. Am I correct?" The old man's eyes danced as he said the last, leaving the witch in front of him - - once again - - slightly confused. Tentatively, she nodded. Dumbledoor continued. "You are a very talented witch, Miss Black. Dare I say, both of your parents would be immensely proud of you." Fiona licked her suddenly dry lips, and forced herself to make a small nod.

"Now, I suppose we should get down to business, as they say. The late hours of the night are fast approaching, and tomorrow will be a busy day for all. Usually in this type of situation, Mr. Mayfoy's parents would have already been notified of his actions, and his immanent expulsion would have already been decided upon." Next to her, Draco tensed slightly. Without thinking about it, Fiona snaked her foot out a few inches to the left and found his. She nudged it slightly, trying to provide some sort of comfort. "However, I feel that - - since you were the one on the receiving end of Mr. Malfoy's curse - - your account should be heard before any further action is taken." All eyes then came to rest on Fiona. _Well_, she thought glumly. _Here goes nothing_.

"My account is quite simple, headmaster. Draco made me angry, and I threatened him. We then dulled, and he unintentionally attacked me a bit more brutally than he had intended to. I am just as much in the wrong here as he is ,sir." Four sets of eyes now stared in disbelief at the young witch. The Griffendoor head of house and the Defense Professor both made noises of protest, but they were silenced by a waving motion of Dumbledoor's hand. Professor Dumbledoor and Fiona sat staring at each other, both faces impassive. The headmaster looked between the two students, his eyes again coming to rest on Fiona. "So that is your story, then, so to speak? Both of you are guilty, and it was all an accident?" Fiona licked her lips again, and felt a nudging against her left foot. Draco was returning the gesture of comfort she had offered him. "That's right sir." Across the room, Remus glared at his niece. The headmaster nodded. "Very well, then. The two of you are to report directly to the library every evening after dinner, and every Saturday morning at nine o'clock. You are to complete any task given to you; this will serve as a type of detention. This punishment will continue until the Christmas holiday. I know that this may all seem a bit harsh, but I cannot - - nor will I - - condone the type of behavior that the two of you demonstrated earlier today. Are there any questions?" Dumbledoor's harsh look was softened, by the kindness that could be heard in his voice.

The students in front of him shook their heads. "Well then, I bid you both a good night, and a wonderful day tomorrow." "G'night, sir." Fiona and Draco muttered the same words as they filed out of the room. As their feet landed on the stone floor in front of the stairs, the gargoyles to either side jumped in front of the flight, blocking it off from the corridor once more. Silence hung think in the air between them, as the two stood side by side. Fiona glanced at the Slytherin, and saw that his hands were stuffed deep in his pockets, and he was looking hard at the ground. They stood there for at least a full minute, each one waiting for the other to say something. Eventually, Fiona just walked away, not seeing the look that passed over the boy's face as she left him in her wake.

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**A/N**: Chapter Two! Woot, woot! Considerably shorter than the others, but it's late, and I should be memorizing about six different pathways. Oh, and 206 bones. Yays. I promise, chapter three won't be far away. Review? Anyone? Please?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary**: Welcome to the life of Fiona Black. Hardly normal on a good day, but now that her father has escaped Azkaban, she has begun to wonder if her life will ever return to normal. What secrets will she discover? And will she be able to keep her own secrets hidden? This story is slightly AU, with my OC, lots of Ginny, a bit of Draco, lots of Remus, and of course, Padfoot.

**Disclaimer**: I own none of this. If I did, then I would be the one rollin' in the mad cash. Instead, the greatness that is Missus J.K. Rowling is. Oh well, onward towards this meager fan's fiction!

**A/N**: Another chapter! This one has taken a bit longer, obviously. Trying to get the dynamic right between Fiona and Draco. The kinks are working out, though. Enjoy!

**Chapter Three: Mischief Managed**

"DO YOU REALLY think that you could possible defeat me, muddblood? I am the Dark Lord, and I am invincible!" Tom Riddle's face contorted in rage, as he screamed at the young girl in front of him. Fiona ignored his tantrum, and rushed to kneel beside her best friend. Ginny Weasley was unconscious, but after finding the pulse in her neck, Fiona felt relief wash over her. If her heart was still beating, then whatever Tom's memory told her didn't matter; there was still hope. The defiant Gryffindor stood, and adjusted her grip on the sword that held. An almost deafening slithering sound announced the Basilisk's return. Fiona turned quickly, and faced off with the massive serpent. Dark blood was flowing freely from the long gouge the girl had inflected onto it's face; both of the Basilisk's eyes were destroyed now, giving Fiona a slight advantage. The creature hissed, and launched itself at her. She dove to the side, as far away from Ginny as she could manage, in hopes of keeping the creature away from her unconscious form. The girl jumped quickly to her feet, and ran towards the destroyed chamber. Perhaps, if she could climb to the top of the stone snake carved into the wall, then she could have the advantage of height over the Basilisk.

It was the best plan that the young girl could formulate, and she ran towards the carving as quickly as her legs would allow. The sword felt ridiculously heavy in the small girl's hand, and her muscles protested with every inch that she climbed. On the floor of the chamber, the Basilisk reared up and hissed as it watched its prey. As Fiona finally pulled herself up and onto the head of the stone statue, the serpent below reared up to the peak of its height. Fiona braced herself as she held the sword in front of her, defensively. The first year was exhausted. Her arms and face were riddled with cuts, some larger than others, although all were seeping blood. Her left wrist had twisted at some point, and the pain was almost unbearably sharp. Fiona was sick of the dark haired boy - - who was by this point, almost completely corporeal - - laughing every time she was injured. She was weary of battling the Basilisk; fighting it felt like a hopeless battle, but she had to at least try. And most of all - - above all other things, Fiona was terrified for her friend. She was so cold, and her pulse was so weak.

As Fiona spoke, her voice shook with suppressed rage and exhaustion. "Come on you great beastie. It's time to end this."

"FI, WAKE UP!" Fiona shot bolt up-right in her four-poster bed. The tee-shirt and shorts she had worn to bed were soaked in sweat, and her heart was beating furiously. Ginny sat, with her knees curled under her, next to her best friend. She wore a look of concern, and her hand was wrapped around Fiona's bicep. Fiona smiled weakly at her, reassuring the red haired girl enough so that she released her hold on the other girl's arm, and sat back slightly. "That must have been some nightmare you were having ,Fi. " Ginny's eyebrows were knit together as she said this, and her mouth was downturned. Fiona felt a pang of guilt as she saw how worried the other girl was. "Was I thrashing around again?" Ginny nodded her confirmation. Fiona sighed, and flung her legs over the side of the bed. As she stood, she stretched her arms over head and yawned. She looked back at Ginny and say that the other girl was smiling at her. "What?" Ginny stood, and both girls grabbed their shower baskets, heading to the bathroom. "Nothing Fi, you're just the only person that I've ever seen wake up more tired than you were when you fell asleep."

After quick showers, the girls were finishing their morning routines. Fiona had just finished buttoning her short-sleeved blouse, and was now pulling on her knee-high black and white striped socks, and slipping on her black and purple trainers. This year, Hogwarts had finally decided to update the uniforms. The tired old floor-length robs and regulation hat and shoes had finally been put to rest, and replaced by pants for the boys, and skirts for the girls. The skirts were alternating in length, but Fiona's and Ginny's hit them just above the knee. The white button-down dress shirts they wore were mandatory for everyone, but they had the option of being either short or long sleeved. Ties in house colors were the only other mandatory part of the uniform. Shoes, undershirts, socks, stockings and hats were all left up to the students - - a fact that everyone was excited about. At the bed next to her, Ginny was running her wand along her hair, straightening it with a simple spell. The girls had been taught the charm during dinner the previous evening, by the always fashionable, Lavender Brown. The red haired girl also wore a short-sleeved shirt, her outfit also accompanied by knee high socks - - hers were solid black, with a single black bow on either side of the tops. Instead of sneakers, Ginny wore black boots that reached mid-calf, and laced up the sides; the shoes had a slight height to the heel.

"Ready?" Fiona, who was already ready and leaning against the door frame, asked her friend. Her hair hung lose down her back; it was doing a sort of half-frizz half-curl thing today; it looked a bit wild Her book bag was slung over a shoulder; its front was covered in band patches, and the strap was lined with various pins. Ginny grabbed her bag, which was a tie-dyed satchel, and adjusted it over her arm. "Yup. Let's be off; we're going to be lucky to even grab a bagel this morning. It's already seven forty-five, and we have double Potions with the Slytherin gits at eight-thirty." The girls descended their dormitory stairs and headed out of the common room, and through the Fat Lady's portrait.

As they walked through the halls and headed into the Great Hall, Fiona and Ginny discussed the matter of Fiona's extensive detention sentence. "Putting the fact that you saved the bloody prat's ass after he nearly killed you - -you do realize that you were almost dead when your uncle began healing you, right? Right. Well then, that aside, how are you going to be able to try out for Quidditch if you aren't able to attend practices?" Ginny nearly crashed into her, as Fiona stopped dead at her words. She had been looking forward to being on the team since she started going to Hogwarts; she knew that if she tried out she would be accepted. She had been playing with the Weasley boys since she was in nappies, and she also head mean abilities on a broom. Obviously, the thought of something happening that would prevent her from being on the team had never occurred to the girl. "Oh Merlin, no. I can't believe I didn't realize that earlier! Sonnova bitch!" Fiona screamed the last words, catching the attention of most students in the great hall, and a few teachers. The now irate girl seemed not to notice the stares, glares, and whispers she was now receiving - - or at least, if she did, she didn't care.

As the two girls took their seats at the house table and began to hurriedly serve food onto their plates, Fiona heard six words that made her blood run cold.

"Sirius Black's been sighted near Hogsmead!"It was a boy in Ron's year, Seamus, holding up that morning's edition of the Daily Prophet. Instantly, all eyes turned to Fiona, who had a bagel poised at her lips. Fiona looked across the table to her life-long best friend. "Can we go?" She muttered to her. Before the words had fully left her mouth, Ginny had already grabbed a napkin and stacked a few pastries on top of it. "Going," was her quick reply. The two friends left the table, not bothering to stop even as Hermione's voice could be heard calling after them.

TEN MINUTES LATER, Fiona and Ginny sat with their knees drawn against their chests, and their backs leaning against the stone wall behind them. The girls were in the dungeons, seated in front of the Potions class room. There was still a bit of time before class started, so other than the two girls, there were only a few scattered students in corridor. The girls were sitting close enough that their knees were touching. Iin her hand, Ginny held her friend's walkman, its ear buds snaking between the two girls. Fiona's head was resting against her best friend's shoulder, and her eyes were closed. Ginny, in turn, had her head resting against her friend's. Fiona was already sick of the day; all that she wanted was to crawl back into bed, and refuse to leave it ever again. Ginny sensed her friend's unhappiness. With a grin, she bumped her knee against the other girl's, causing Fiona to look up at her, with her brows raised quizzically. "What?" Ginny shrugged at her, and waited for her to lay her head back down before doing it again, but with more force. This time, Fiona only cracked a single eye open to glare at her friend. "I know what you're doing, Gin. You're trying to either cheer me up, or else provoke me - - whichever works first, eh? Well forget about it missy, because I refuse to let go of this state of misery." Ginny looked at her friend with wide eyes, and put on her best innocent face. "Fi, I swear you're bloody mad. I was just messin' about right there. If I was trying to get a rise out of you, then I'd do something like point out how sad it is that you're completely in love with Draco bleedin' Malfoy. Or I'd say that you want to kiss him…you want to date him…you want to love him…you want to have his nasty little hell-spawn…!" The last was said in an extremely loud sing-song voice, which was a bit slurred due to the uncontrollable giggles that the red haired girl was experiencing. Fiona grabbed at her friend, hissing at her to shut up as she tried to clamp a hand over her mouth.

As they giggled and wrestled against the force of the other's arms, neither one noticed when the classroom door in front of them opened and a group of Slytherin third years filed out. "Ginevra Molly Weasley - - I swear to Merlin! - - if you do not shut your abnormally large mouth NOW - - " Fiona was trying her best to look menacing through her giggles. "You'll what Fiona Mae Black? Giggle at me? Too late my friend! I'm NOT going to shut up; I'm going to tell EVERYONE in the whole bloody school that you are absolutely - - positively! - - hopelessly, and SICKENINGLY in love with - - Drrrrmuphmph!"

Finally, Fiona succeeded in covering her friend's mouth - - just in the nick of time too, as she realized that there was someone standing in front of them. Fiona looked into the face of the person, and felt her face heat up with fire, as she let go of her friend's mouth and jumped to her feet. "Hello Draco." Fiona shifted uncomfortable from foot to foot as she wished with all of her willpower for the stone floor beneath her feet to swallow her up. Next to her, Ginny had also scrambled to her feet. The girl looked as though she was trying very hard not to laugh out loud at the situation. Draco looked at Fiona, and raised a single, perfectly shaped eyebrow. Fiona swallowed nervously. The blond boy standing in front of her was wearing his best poker-face; not even his eyes gave her any indication as to whether or not he had heard what Ginny had said. Suddenly, those pale eyebrows knitted together as he spoke. "Whose Drrrrmuphmph?"At his words, Fiona froze for a moment. _Well, shite_, Fiona though as she took in Draco's appearance. Not for the first time, she noticed how bright and cold the boy's clear blue eyes were. Also noticed, was how nicely his new uniform fit him, and how his hair seemed to be a bit longer than she had remembered it. "Um." Fiona was having a difficult time remembering the question. "Um…" The blond boy deadpanned at the fumbling girl, clearly impatient for her answer. Just as Fiona was finally decided on how she would answer his question, the sound of her approaching classmates saved her. It was now time for double potions with the Slytherins.

She and Ginny quickly climbed to their feet, and straightened themselves. "Bye Draco!" Fiona said as she shot past the boy, who tried and failed to grab her arm before she made it past him. "I'll see you at detention tonight!" He called after the mischievous girl, as she rushed into the classroom.

Potions passed slowly, but without much event. Fiona had always done fairly well in the subject, but had never been able to truly enjoy it, due to the vendetta that the Potions master seemed to have against her. As the bell rang, Fiona stood and began placing her supplies back in her book bag. The class had been brewing love potions that day. Fiona grabbed the vial filled with sweet-smelling red liquid, which she and Ginny had worked together in brewing, and took it to the desk in the front of the room. Fiona reached forward to hand the Potion's master their potion, but the man did not take it, only looked at her. "Professor?" The grey eyed girl locked eyes with the man in front of her, and was startled to recognize fury swimming in his eyes. "I know what you are doing, and believe me, I am not so fooled by you as the other professors - - including your precious mutt of an uncle - - might be." The Potions master said quietly, in his monotone voice; every syllable that the man spoke dripped with venom. Snape had his lips set in a thin line, and his overly-long fingers held onto his quill with a white-knuckled grip. As Fiona watched, she saw the thin feather quiver, and then snap. Behind her, the few students that were left in the classroom had stopped what they were doing, and were now gawking at the scene unfolding in front of them. As the man on the other side of the desk bared his slightly yellowed teeth at her, Fiona squared her shoulders, looking down her nose at the man. Professor Snape was far from being her favorite person at Hogwarts, but she had never - - to her knowledge - - done anything to him that would explain his hatred of her. "I am really not sure what you are talking about _Professor;_ nor do I care what sort half-witted musings you may have come up with today. I'm not up to shite." With that, she tossed the small vial on the man's desk, leaving him to sit and process her words. The small glass tube landed with a small 'clink'.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor!" Snape had jumped up from his chair, toppling it over in his haste. Spit flew from his mouth, as he bellowed at the girl. He stalked over to her to her desk, when she had returned to grab her bag. Now she stood next to her it, facing off with the irate man. Her bag was flung haphazardly over her shoulder, and her jaw was set. "And an additional twenty points for being a filthy Black." The man smirked when he said this, and watched as the young girl's eyes threatened to pop out of her skull. "Excuse me?" Fiona's question was quiet, and he body had begun to shake with anger. Next to her, but standing nearer to the wall, Ginny made a disbelieving sound. "Fi, c'mon mate, let's just go…" Fiona shook her head once, sharply. In front of her, Snape smirked. "Perhaps you should listen to your little friend; sadly she seems to have better sense than you. Tell me, are you going to try to curse me, as your idiot father would have done? Or are you going to try to win my affections, as your mother before did?" Fiona sucked in a sharp breath, and did the first thing that she could think to do.

WHAM!

Severus Snape staggered backwards with the force of the hit, and landed without grace in a nearby chair. Around them, the remaining students took in a collective gasp. Fiona stood glued to the spot, looking with glazed eyes at the man in front of her. She had hit a teacher; she was certain to be expelled. And yet…like so many things as of late, she could hardly bring herself to care. For months, she had felt like there was some vital part of her missing. The feeling had started shortly after she and Ginny had escaped from the Chamber, and it had never really gone away. To the contrary, the feeling had only worsened every time that she stared into her father's eyes on a wanted poster, or every time that she walked into a room and was greeted only by stares and whispers. Fiona was drug back to the present by a sound being made by the man in front of her. He had touched his cheek - - which was now a rapidly darkening reddish-purple color - - and winced, making a small pain sound. "You hit me." He pointed an accusatory finger at the young Gryffindor. She flexed her hand, which had still been curled into a tight fist, and nodded. "Yes," Fiona said quietly; she could feel her knuckles swelling. "I most certainly did."

"AND SO, WE meet again Miss Black." The wizened wizard sitting across from Fiona chuckled softly as he said this. "Dare I say, you may well have earned yourself celebrity status with this latest act." The headmaster popped a candy into his mouth. "Right, because my father being a mass murderer and me killing the Basilisk didn't do that already." Fiona laughed dryly at her own words, as the old man offered her a Lemon Drop. "I suppose you are right on that count, my dear. Tell me, what did Severus say that was extreme enough to warrant you physically attacking him?" The old man pressed his fingertips together, and looked at the Fiona from over the rim of his spectacles. "Sir," the girl cleared her throat lightly, resisting the urge to squirm. "He implied something off-color about my mother." Dumbledore's face softened a bit, as he shook his head sadly at her. "Although I do not agree with what Severus has done, you must know that I cannot allow this incident to go unpunished." Much to Fiona's chagrin, her eyes began to tear; she quickly looked at the floor and nodded. "I wouldn't dare to expect otherwise, sir." The old man looked at the girl in front of him sympathetically, before he went on. "Well then, that said, I think that as punishment - - with this being in addition to your evening and weekend detentions with Mr. Malfoy - - every Hogsmeade weekend from now until the end of term, you will assist Professor McGonagle in keeping roll of students. The first trip scheduled for one week from now, I believe." Fiona looked at the headmaster with an expression of disbelief. That was her only punishment? For attacking a teacher? Quickly, Fiona voiced her skepticism. "Erm - - Headmaster, sir. I do not mean to seem ungrateful but saying this - - because I am totally grateful! - - but isn't that punishment a bit, well, lax? I mean, regardless of whether or not I was provoked, I still attacked a teacher! Even though that teacher is a slimy, prejudice, conceited git…" Fiona trailed off, slightly breathless from her sudden rant.

Dumbledore raised his overgrown, white eyebrows at the girl's outburst, and laughed a low, wizened laugh. Fiona's eyebrows knitted together, as she tried to understand the strange old man. After a moment, his laughter trailed off; still, there was still a slight twinkle to his graying eyes. "How strange it is, Fiona - - may I call you by your first name?" The girl in front of him nodded, still confused. "Good, good. As I was saying; how strange it is, too sit here, speaking with you, and feel as though I am speaking both to your mother, and your father." Fiona looked at the Headmaster sharply; he held up one long, thin hand, asking her to wait. "What I mean, my dear, is that it is quite extraordinary just how unbelievably much you are like both your mother, and your father. They were both students of mine, you see."

The Headmaster stared unwaveringly at Fiona. The girl looked back at him, and swallowed her sudden nervousness. Yes, she had known that her parents both went to Hogwarts; it was actually one of the few facts about her parents that she knew. Her uncle rarely ever spoke about his sister; he was still too heartbroken about her sudden death. Likewise, Fiona's father was a subject that both of them knew never to bring up. The few fights that had ever transpired between the two, had always stemmed from the topic of her father being brought up by one or the other; by now, Remus and Fiona knew not to tread in those seas. Because of this, the few facts about her parents that Fiona actually knew, had come from her and Ginny's late-night eavesdropping at the Weasley's. There, they had more than once overheard Arthur and Molly reminiscing about the War, and the aspects of it that concerned Fiona. This was how Fiona came to realize that her parents had never been married; apparently when she was born, her parents hadn't even been seeing each other. According to Molly Weasley, Fiona's father may well not even know that she existed. Now, as Fiona sat in the Headmaster's office, she was being presented with something that seemed entirely like an opportunity to learn more about the two people who created her. Fiona looked at the man in front of her, and nodded. "I will not lie to you; both of your parents had a kind of affinity for trouble. Dare I say, you may well have inherited it doubly." The old man shot the girl a smile, who returned it with a quick - - slightly bashful - - grin, before he continued. "You see, your mother was a very, very bright witch; as a first year, she was probably more at the level of a third or fourth year. You parents had this in common, you see. More times than I can count, I sat with your parents in this very office, meditating between the two, as they tried to concoct a feasible enough excuse to explain why they had fought - - again - - or else dueled - - again." Here the man paused for a moment, which gave Fiona an opportunity to process this new information. "Did my parents fight often, sir?" The Headmaster actually threw his head back and laughed a deep, belly-rumbling laugh. "Oh dear Merlin, yes, indeed! Actually, I have never in my lifetime witnessed such a - - what you one call it? Oh yes - - such a love-hate relationship, as what your mother and father had. That is, of course, until you and Mister Malfoy both began attending here." Another piercing look was sent in Fiona's direction, and she felt herself redden. "Not quite sure what you're talking about sir…oh look, Lemon Drops!" The embarrassed Gryffindor quickly popped one of the yellow candies into her mouth, and received a small chuckle from the old man across from her. "No idea indeed…very well, I was straying from the topic anyway. As I was saying, the similarities between yourself and your parents are uncanny. Aside from the obvious intelligence that you gained from them, there is also the matter of your personality. There is no doubt in my mind that you have inherited your father's streak of mischief; your school record this year actually - - thus far - - is almost a mirror image of his own, strangely enough. I do, however, feel that there is much more than just mischief and mayhem where you are concerned, Fiona. You are a brave and noble witch. Last year, with the Chamber of Secrets, you showed me just how much like your parents you are."

Fiona looked at the Headmaster with confusion. She had no idea what the man was saying, or at least trying to say. "I was just trying to save my friend, sir. To call my venturing into the Chamber after Ginny bravery is truly a misconception; it was cowardice that pushed me forward." Now it was the Headmaster's turn to be confused. "My dear, what on earth are you saying?" Fiona's eyes were fixed on a spot above the man's head as she spoke, and her hands flexed on her lap. When she spoke, her voice quivered slightly. "What I am saying sir, is that as I fought the Basilisk - - as Tom Riddle taunted me and I told him again and again to sod off - - the only reason why I did not turn back in terror was because I was afraid. I was terrified by the thought of not sitting next to my best friend during mealtimes, or during classes. Not ever riding the train to school with her again…never sitting in our tree house again; never again sneaking around the school's grounds. I could not bear the thought of it, so I fought to keep my best friend safe. I am not a hero for defeating the Basilisk, sir; I am a coward for why I did it."

As Fiona finished speaking, silence hung in the air. All that could be heard was small ticking noises coming from various points in the room, and Fiona noticed - - somehow for the first time - - the many portraits of Hogwarts past headmaster's, which hung along the wall directly to her left. As she saw this, Fiona also noticed the numerous pairs of eyes, which were all fixed intently on herself and the current Headmaster. Her eyes drifted quickly from here to there, as she tried desperately to look at anything other than the old man with knowing eyes sitting in front of her. Suddenly, a knocking sounded on the doors to the office, which were directly behind Fiona's seat, causing her to jump in her seat a bit.

"Enter." The Headmaster called loudly, as his eyes met with Fiona's. Fiona listened, as the doors opened, and then closed again. Minerva McGonagle strode into the room, and stood next to the Headmaster's side; she regarded the Gryffindor girl with a cool expression. Fiona sat automatically sat straighter, and shouldered her book bag. She looked to the Headmaster, who nodded, wordlessly at her. Fiona stood, and inclined her head at her head-of-house. "Professor," she said. "Black," was woman's curt reply. Dumbledore cleared his throat, and spoke with a note off finality. "Please do report to Professor McGonagle's office immediately after breakfast on the morning of every Hogsmead trip." Fiona nodded. "Yes, sir." She began to retreat from the room, but was stopped once again by the Headmaster. "And my dear, always remember. The end justifies the means, no matter what. Fear is not something that makes us weak; it only makes us human."

THE GREAT HALL was full, as Fiona quietly sat down for lunch next to Ginny at the Gryffindor table. Ginny was talking animatedly to Collin Creevy, and had obviously not noticed Fiona yet. Grinning to herself, Fiona grabbed a fork and began stealing bites from her friend's plate of salad. After the third time that Ginny had gone after a tomato, only to realize that it was no longer on her plate, the red haired girl finally looked to her right, and was startled to see that someone was sitting there. "Oi, what's your problem mate! You about gave me a bloody heart attack! Why do you always have to do that weird quiet-vampire-thing to me? Merlin." Ginny had one hand laid over her heart, as Fiona laughed shamelessly at her unobservant friend. "Sorry Gin, but you know I can't resist." Fiona's giggles were suddenly interrupted, as the rest of her house realized that she had sat down. "Fi, hey Fi, did you really knockout Snape?" This was Collin. "You're bloody brilliant, ya know that? Absolutely brilliant! I've always wanted to be the one to deck the git, but seeing as you hit harder than me anyways, I'm glad it was you what done it." This came from Ron, who was speaking in the time between taking bites off his fork. "I really can't believe you did that Fiona. That's just…wow. Brilliant!" This came from Harry, who although she had never been particularly close with, she had always gotten along with. However, since the train ride, the dark haired boy had seemed to be avoiding her; Fiona assumed that it had something to do with her father, and her name. Many people seemed to be avoiding her, probably operating under the assumption that she was aiding her felon father somehow. The thought was almost enough to make Fiona snort in distaste.

Hermione, who was sitting across and two people down from Fiona, leaned in towards the other girl. "Fiona, what did Dumbledore say? You aren't going to be expelled, are you?" Ginny also looked at her friend. She was just as curious about her friend's answer as Hermione was, because Fiona had not gotten a chance to recount her meeting with the Headmaster to her yet. "Actually, no. I m not going to be expelled." At the other end of the table, Fred and George Weasley sat together. They were seated away from the rest of the Gryffindor fifth years, and as she watched, the two boys leaned together in a scheming fashion. They were looking down at a piece of parchment they had spread out on the table in front of them. Fiona strained her ears to hear what the boys were saying, but they were seated too far down, and spoke too quietly. She tried to read their lips, but the only word that really took on any shape was one said by Fred; without a doubt, he had just said 'map'. Suddenly, Fiona realized that both Hermione and Ginny were still staring at her, waiting for her to elaborate. "Um, I'm supposed to assist Professor McGonagle in taking roll every Hogsmead weekend, from now until the end of the year." Hermione's mouth shot open. "But you attacked a teacher! That's an automatic expulsion!" Fiona looked at the bushy haired girl in growing annoyance. "Well, sorry to disappoint you Hermione, but apparently it isn't."

A FEW HOURS later, Fiona and Ginny were walking back to Gryffindor tower; they had just finished up their last class of the day - - History of Magic of all things - - and were ready for a break. It was only four-thirty, so they still had an hour-and-a-half before dinner. As they traveled from staircase to staircase, the girls discussed what Fiona had learned about her parents. "So your mum and dad hated each other at school? That doesn't make much sense." Fiona agreed with her friend, it didn't make much sense to her either. "Like, how would that even work, ya know? 'Hey, I really can't stand the sight of you…would you like to go shag?'" Both girls dissolved into giggles at Ginny's mock impression of what was supposed to be Fiona's father, before Fiona turned serious once again. "It doesn't make sense, does it? Maybe I was an accident; that would explain things well enough. But Mooney has told me before that my parents were together. You know what's really strange?" Ginny looked at her friend, and shook her head negatively. "What?" Fiona furrowed her eyebrows as she continued. "Well, Dumbledore told me that my parents had a real love/hate relationship. Actually I think his words were, 'Your parents had a love/hate relationship unlike any that I have ever seen, save for you and Mister Malfoy.'" Ginny stopped climbing the stairs, and looked incredulously at her best friend. Fiona stopped on the stair above her, and looked back. "What? What's wrong?" Ginny just stared at her friend, before suddenly doubling forward with laughter. "You…Malfoy…gonna' have slimy babies…too hilarious… - -" At this point, laughter overcame the red haired girl, and she had to stop talking and actually sit down on the step, clutching her sides.

Fiona looked down at her friend, and rolled her eyes. As she waited for her friend to stop laughing, students walked by the girls, looking on in interest. "What're you lookin' at git?" Fiona barked at a passing sixth year Ravenclaw, David something. "Gin, are you about done? Not that I'm not fairly used to receiving strange looks from people by now, but I'm really bloody tired. I've gotta' at least start my homework before dinner, because after dinner I have detention. Really I'm going to be lucky to get a shower in tonight…" As she trailed off, Ginny stood up, nodding, and managed to quiet her giggles. "Sorry about that Fi, but I just - - well, honestly, I think that the Headmaster was implying something there." Fiona glared at her friend, and pushed her lightly on the shoulder. "Shut up, Gin. I'm already paranoid enough, having half of the school thinking that I'm aiding and abetting my father's convict arse. I really don't need to add Dumbledore being the lead of some twisted Draco Malfoy conspiracy romance to my list of concerns." The girls were now almost to the Fat Lady's portrait; they had just passed the stairwell that led up to Professor Trewealry's classroom when someone calling Fiona's name caught their attention.

As they turned around, Fiona saw none other than Draco Malfoy himself hurrying to catch up with them. His blond hair was billowing behind him, and Fiona noticed again, just how good his uniform looked on him. As he reached the girls, he acknowledged Ginny with an inclination of his head, before turning to Fiona, and leveling his pale eyes on hers. Quickly, he pulled a folded piece of parchment out of his pocket, and shoved it into Fiona's hand. Ignoring the burning sensation that his cold and left on hers, Fiona looked at the parchment, and then back at him. "What's this then?" Draco looked at her impassively, and shrugged. "What isn't it? Read it - - somewhere safe - - and write your reply; give it to me at tonight's detention." With that, the blond boy turned on his heal and left. As he walked away, Fiona looked down at the parchment in her hand. Its folded surface wasn't giving away any of its secret. "I wonder what it is." Fiona turned to Ginny, only it see her wearing a cat-that-caught-the-canary look. "Don't you even start with me, Gin. Today has just been too weird."

_Fiona, _

_I am having difficulty in getting my thoughts down on paper…Malfoy's are raised to never say they are sorry, so I will not lower myself to that. However, if you were to ask me what the most terrifying moment in my life was, I would have to let honesty have the best of me. Terror was seeing the only person in this world that I feel anything for laying still, unconscious, bleeding out - - all by my own hand. I meant to hurt you; I will not lie about that. I need for you to know, though, that when I cursed you I had no idea what damage it would cause. A poor excuse, I know; but it is the truth. As I said, I cannot bring myself to apologize for what I have done. If you will let me though, I will make it up to you. Please Fiona, can I make this up to you? Meet me at eleven o'clock Friday night, next to the lake. You will not regret this._

_Sincerely,_

_DM_

_Draco, _

_Obviously, I do not hold your actions against you. If I did, then I would not have said what I did in the Headmaster's office last night. I appreciate your honesty, just as I appreciate your offer. I accept, wholeheartedly; see you after hours on Friday._

_With Love, _

_Fiona_

BY THE TIME that Fiona entered the library that evening, Draco was nowhere in sight. As she approached the circular desk, Madam Prince appraised her with owlish eyes. Fiona had taken off her knee socks and tie, and the top three buttons of her blouse was undone. Her wild hair hung long, and a few almost-curls had spilled into her face. The woman's eyes narrowed as she finished her appraisal. "A bit underdressed, aren't we?" Fiona resisted the urge to scowl. "Actually ma'ma, according to dress code guidelines in the school handbook, students are not required to wear uniforms after dinner, unless they are in attendance to evening classes." The librarian looked as though she had swallowed a lemon. She adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose, and sniffed huffily. "You are Miss Black, are you not?" Fiona looked warily at the woman, but nodded none the less. "Well then, I should have known. Back when your father was in school, he would have run around in his birthday suit if he'd thought he could get away with it. Actually, he did once or twice, if memory serves…"

The woman stood from her desk, and began walking towards the restricted section of the library. Fiona stood rooted to the spot, suddenly plagued by disturbing images of her criminally insane father running nude around the Quidditch pitch, before she shook herself out of the daze and followed the librarian. As they neared the section, Fiona saw that Draco was already there, climbing up a ladder to retrieve an oversized text from the topmost shelf. When he saw her approach, he shot her a small, quick smile, before continuing on with what he was doing. "As you can see, Mister Malfoy was actually here on time, so he has already started on your task. The project that I have decided on for the two of you, is to alphabetize, classify, and log every book in the restricted section." Fiona looked around incredulously at the endless rows of books around her. "But Madam, there are at least fifty shelves here!" The librarian glanced around again with those owlish eyes, and smiled slightly. "Forty eight, actually. The two of you have plenty of time; according to the Headmaster, you are at my disposal until Christmas. Although, it would probably be in your best interest to get to it."

Madam Prince then walked away, leaving Fiona alone with Draco, who had just finished climbing down the ladder. He took the book in his hand over to a nearby table, before turning to look at her. When he spoke, his voice held just the smallest note of uncertainty. "Well, did you read it then?" Fiona looked at him for a moment with an unreadable expression, before nodding mutely and producing her own small piece of parchment from the back pocket of her book bag. She handed it to the Slytherin, whose fingers brushed over her own as he retrieved it from her grasp. Once again, a zinging, electric feeling pulsed up her arm when their fingers touched. During the split-second that it happened, their met, and as Fiona saw Draco's eyes widen fractionally, she realized that he had felt it too. Then he was pocketing the letter, and the moment was gone. The two stood there in silence for a moment, before Draco looked up at the shelves around them. "Well, we had better get to work then, hadn't we? I have a feeling that Madam Prince would try to keep us here until breakfast, if she didn't think that we were being productive enough."

WHEN FRIDAY AFTERNOON finally came around, Fiona and Ginny found walked alone, somewhere in the East wing of the school. She and Ginny had just gotten out of Transfiguration, and were trying to decide on where to go next. It was only twelve o'clock in the afternoon, and the girls were already done with classes for the day. As they walked, the two friends laughed about a joke that Ron had told them earlier that morning at breakfast. As they rounded a corner into the corridor that housed the statue of the one eyed witch, the girl's laughter died as they watched the statue's hump open up, and Fred and George both jump out of it and into the hallway. The brother's stood there, Fred dusting himself dusting himself off, and George quickly pocketing the piece of parchment that Fiona recognized from breackfast the other day. It took the boys a moment before they looked up, and realized that they were not alone in the corridor. The twins looked at the girls in front of them; looked back at each other, and then back again to the girls. "Hello Finny," the twins both coursed, as they each grinned mischievously. "Hello Forge," the two friends - - who were so like sisters - - replied. Ginny's brother's faces clouded with worry, as they registered the devious looks brewing in the eyes off the girls in front of them. "Fred, George. I think that we all need to have a little chat." The boys looked at each other sheepishly, before glancing back at the girls. "Whatever about dearest - - and most favorite - - sister of ours?" Fred, always the best at back-peddling, said this; behind him, George was pulling an innocent face. "About where you were, how you got there, and what that map in George's pocket has to do with it all." Fiona was the one who spoke this time, folding her arms under her chest as she stared defiantly at the boys in front of her.

Out of all of the Weasley brothers, Fred and George had always been her favorite. Of course, Ron was closest to her age-wise; but because of his immaturity and the embarrassment he felt towards his younger sister, she had never meshed well with him. Outside off Hogwarts, they seldom spoke civilly to each other; in fact, their 'discussions' usually ended in the two coming to blows with each other. Older than both Ron and the twins, was Percy; and really, Fiona doubted that she had ever spoken fifty words to the pompous boy. Above Percy in age was Charlie, the only Weasley brother that both Fiona and Ginny admired. Charlie lives - - against Molly Weasley's wishes - - in Romania, training dragons, and trying to start up his own dragon farm. Anytime that he came home, he went out of his way to spend time with his sister and her best friend, a thing that was almost incomprehensible to his youngest brother. Lastly, and eldest, was Bill Weaslley. For as long as Fiona could remember, she had been a bit mad about the boy. One of her earliest memories, in fact, was that of a toddler sized Ginny and her running around the Burrow's fields in brightly colored dresses, chasing Bill, who was on a broom, practicing his flying. To this day, Fiona still turned bright red and stuttered anytime that Bill was around; at least he was polite enough to pretend not to notice.

Now, as the twins stood in front of the two girls - - one of them their sister, the other a surrogate sister - - they looked at each other, and nodded; one and then the other. "A'ight then." This was Fred, who walked over to the girls, and slung an arm over either off their shoulders. "Before we can answer any of your questions, dear sister and almost sister, we must first answer you with our questions of our own." This was said by George. It was unreal, how the two brothers seemed to be able to read each other's minds. "Have either of you ever heard of the Marauders?" Fred said this, as he began leading them down the corridor. Both girls shook their heads. "No, you wouldn't have, would they George?" George grinned, and also shook his head. "No way that they could have brother, dear. We're the ones with the map, aren't we?" Fiona looked sharply at George. "So then there is a map!" The twins each rolled their eyes and sighed exaggeratedly. "Of course there's a map!" Both boys bellowed this as they all entered the Entrance Hall, causing the girls to start. "Well what is it then, and how did you two get it?" This was Ginny, who had always been a fan of her twin brother's antics, and had become very good at playing along. "What an absolutely excellent question sister!" Fred ruffled his sister's hair affectionately as he said this, causing her squeal in anger. "Leave my bloody hair alone you prat!"

By this point, they had walked all the way to the steps that led down to Hagrid's hut. Here, they stopped, and Fred jumped in front of them, so that he stood shoulder to shoulder with his brother in front of the girls. With a flourish, George pulled the parchment out of his pocket. Fiona and Ginny waited, as the twins each produced their wands. They tapped the ends of them against the front of the parchment, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." George then offered the map to Ginny, who took it with an incredulous look on her face. As she held the parchment, words began to appear on its previously blank surface. It read:

_Messer's Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs present to you, the Marauder's Map._

Fiona looked at the parchment, and then to Ginny. Ginny's face mirrored her own disbelief. The words had appeared quickly, but they had both seen it. Mooney. That's what Fiona's uncle had told her his friends called him, when they were all at school. Since being told this, Fiona and Ginny almost always used that name for him, thinking that it coincided nicely with his full moon counterpart. Now, it seemed as though the two girls had just accidently stumbled upon a part of Remus's past. "Go ahead, open it up." Fred urged Ginny from over her shoulder. Quickly, she complied and opened the tri-fold map up to its full width, and gasped. "Is that - - ?" The twins grinned in glee. "Everyone," they said. Fiona looked at the map in front of her in awe. As she watched, the map was indeed showing everyone on the Hogwarts grounds. Also, it looked as though the map was showing - - "Everywhere?" Fiona looked to the twins with eyebrows raised. They both nodded. "Everywhere. Everyone, everywhere, all the time." Ginny shook her head in disbelief. "How is that even possible? Who in the bloody hell is capable of that kind of magic?" The twins instantly pointed to the names on the map. "Those blokes. They were Gods, you see - - or at least, as good as." Fiona once again looked at the names on the map, and promised herself that she was going to figure out what they meant. If her uncle had been a part of making the map in front of her, she had a right to know. Or at least, she felt as though she did.

Ginny and Fiona looked at each other - - both wondering the same thing - - and then back to the two red haired boys in front of them. Ginny asked first, "Well can we have it then?" The twins looked at one another, before spinning around in the other direction and speaking in low, rapid speech. Fiona heard them each say "Right," before they spun around to face them once again. "It's yours," said Fred. "On one condition, of course." The girls regarded the twins with closed expressions. "And what would that condition by, dearest brother?" Ginny had learned the hard way, to never trust her brother's conditions. George crossed his arms over his chest, and regarded the girls with a sheepish expression. "You two have to take Harry to Hogsmead with you. We know that's why you two wanted this - - we heard you discussing it over summer. Harry can't go because the stupid muggles never signed his slip, so he's in a very similar boat as the two of you." Fiona looked at Ginny, and Ginny looked at George. "Fine. We'll take him with us and show him the way. Deal?" The red haired girl held out the hand not holding the map to her older brothers - - first one, and then the other - - before Fiona did the same. "One last thing though," Fred said, as he held out his wand again. "It is vitally important that you clear the map after you use it, or else anyone could see it. To clear it, all you have to do is tap the parchment and say: mischief managed."

**A/N: **Chapter Three! The longest so far…next chapter will have some Sirius in it. Actually, at least two scenes should be told from is POV. I think that I finally got the spelling down, more or less.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary**: Welcome to the life of Fiona Black. Hardly normal on a good day, but now that her father has escaped Azkaban, she has begun to wonder if her life will ever return to normal. What secrets will she discover? And will she be able to keep her own secrets hidden? This story is slightly AU, with my OC, lots of Ginny, a bit of Draco, lots of Remus, and of course, Padfoot.

**Disclaimer**: I own none of this. If I did, then I would be the one rollin' in the mad cash. Instead, the greatness that is Missus J.K. Rowling is. Oh well, onward towards this meager fan's fiction!

**A/N**: So I'm going to try writing a scene or two from Sirius's POV. I'll try to make it comprehensible I don't think that I'm doing a very good job following the POA time-frame either; so yeah, no cookie for me. Also, random but important question: Does anyone even like this story? I've had a good number of hits, but absolutely no reviews. It's a bit discouraging; this author feels no love. Now, on with the story…

**Chapter Four: I Can Feel It In My Bones**

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AFTER THEIR ENCOUNTER with Fred and George, Fiona and Ginny hurried back to Gryffindor tower. There they sat, on Fiona's bed, with a silencing charm placed around the curtains and the Marauder's Map laid out across the bed in front of them. Like this, the girls poured over the parchment in front of them for hours. As they watched all of the dots and names that documented the students and faculty of Hogwarts make their way around the school, they were discussing the various hidden tunnels around the school that the map revealed to them. "Well, look at this one here!" Ginny stabbed her finger to a dotted line somewhere near the lower levels of the East Wing. "It just tappers off, there is absolutely no way that it could reach Hogsmead." Fiona bit her lower lip thoughtfully, and then nodded. "You're absolutely right Gin; that tunnel wouldn't work at all. But what - -" It was now the wild haired girl's turn to stab at the parchment. "About this one?" The tunnel in question - - shown as a dotted blue line on the map - - seemed to be hidden beneath the Wompping Willow. And although the map did not show where exactly the tunnel led to, it was to the South - - the same direction as the wizarding village. Ginny leaned closer to the parchment, and finally sighed, running a hand across her young face. "I suppose it is the best shot that we have, mate." Fiona grinned at her friend, and tapped her wand across the face of the map. "Mischief managed."

TWO HOURS LATER, Fiona and Ginny were sitting across from each other in the Great Hall. Hogwarts seemed to be particularly at a buzz this evening. This was always the case on Fridays; even the teachers brightened at the prospect of the weekend. "Did you see the way that Cho was looking at the git? What a cow!" Fiona looked at her friend with mock sympathy. "I'm sorry that Harry is an oblivious idiot, Gin. One day - - when your chest is huge and your arse is the size of Cheshire - - Harry will know how horribly mistake he was to overlook you back in his Hogwarts days." The red haired girl shot her friend a glare, but was saved from replying by the appearance of Fiona's uncle. "Hullo Mooney!" The two friends chorused in unison. The defense professor looked at the girls in front of him, and cast a warm smile across his face. "Hello young maidens. How is second year treating the two of you tonight?" Ginny said something about dastardly homework, and Fiona merely smiled. "Things are going well. Aside from detention…how have you been, Professor?" Fiona had quickly steered away from the subject of her punishment, when she saw a shadow slip across his face. After that night in the Headmaster's office, Remus didn't talk to his niece for days. In fact, he had not so much look at the girl until that morning. But after speaking a few quick words in the hallways, the two had shared a quick hug, and been on friendly terms once again.

"I am doing quite well, thanks. Well, for the most part." Her uncle's eyes snaked across the hall, to the doorway, leaving Fiona wondering what the cause was for his distraction. Once she realized that Remus was distracted, it also became apparent that something was weighing heavily upon his mind. "Fiona dear, I wanted to have a word. Perhaps I could walk with you to the library tonight?" Fiona looked up into her uncle's light, watery eyes. She nodded her affirmation, and rose from the table.  
"Gin," she said, glancing over to her friend. "I'll see you later mate." Ginny's eyes locked with her best friend's, and she too nodded. They both could tell that something was wrong with the Defense Professor. With a small wave at the Golden Trio, who were watching Fiona and Remus with peaked curiosity, the pair left the Great Hall.

As uncle and niece walked through the lone corridors - - the castle was usually deserted around dinnertime - - of Hogwarts, the only sound that passed between them was the small squeaking of Fiona's trainers against the stone floor. After a few minutes, when they were nearly to the library corridor, Remus finally spoke. "Fiona, what do you know about your father?" The girl looked sharply at her uncle; her brows knitting together as his question passed through her mind. "Not particularly much, uncle. Why?" Her voice said the last word curtly, and internally, she scolded herself. It was, indeed, a rare thing for Remus to willingly bring up Sirius Black; here she was already trying to ruin it by sounding rude. Remus cringed slightly at his niece's tone, and shook his head slightly. "Dearest, there are a few things that I think we need to discuss. Things that, perhaps, I should have told you years ago." The entrance to the library was now insight, so Fiona stopped walking for a moment, before leading her uncle down a rarely used corridor to their left. Here, the two walked about twenty paces, before taking a seat next to each other on a nearby windowsill. Once they were both settled, Fiona looked to her uncle expectantly, with one of her slender eyebrows raised. Seeing the look on his niece's face, Remus sighed, and slumped forward so that he was staring intently at the stone floor. Then, he began to speak in a quiet, sad voice.

"Fiona, years ago when I attended Hogwarts - - during my first year - - I befriended three of my fellow Gryffindor's. From the moment that we became friends, the four of us shared an incredible bond, almost like that of brothers. Eventually, that is what we came to consider each other; brothers, of a sort. With each passing year, the four of us became closer and closer. Surprisingly or not, it did not take long for my friends to figure out where it was that I disappeared to every full moon. That was during my third year. By fifth year, they had had enough of seeing the damage that the lonely Mooney did to me, so they devised a plan. By the end of the year, Mooney had playmates." Remus leveled his gaze at Fiona, and as she churned his words over in her head, her grey eyes widened she realized their meaning. "Animagi?" Her voice was an almost-whisper. With another sigh, Remus nodded. "Illegally, of course. There was no way in hell that the Ministry would have ever knowingly allowed three fifth year students to attempt the transformation."

They sat in silence for a heartbeat, before Fiona asked the question that had been plaguing her mind ever since the twins had given her and Ginny the map. _Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, _the Map had said. "Who were your friends, Mooney? Why do they never come around anymore?" Abruptly, the man next to her let out a chipped laugh. "You mean to tell me, Fiona, that you have not figured that out yet? I am a bit shocked; usually between yours and Ginny's snooping abilities, mysteries are short lived." Fiona scowled a bit indigently at her uncle, giving him her best glare. "If I knew uncle, then I would need not have asked." Next to her, Remus rubbed his temples and nodded quickly. "I've no doubt of that dear." A breath, and then, "Peter Pettigrew, James Potter, and off course, your father - - Sirius Black." Fiona's head spun with this new revlation about her father, and her stomach felt a bit weak. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, and ran fingers through her hair.

"Not that I don't appreciate you telling me all of this Mooney - - because I do - -but why are you telling me now? And why did you look so worried when you came to talk to me in the Hall?" The man beside her sighed once again, and half-turned so that he faced her. "I told you this, Fiona, because I am afraid. No one else knows that Sirius is an amigus - - everyone else that knew is dea- -" He cleared his throat abruptly. "Everyone else has passed away. I swore never to betray the other's trust by telling anyone, and with the exception of you, I have not. I was troubled earlier, because the thought has struck me, that my loyalty to this man - - or at least to the man that he once was - - could end up getting someone hurt. It could end up getting you hurt." He leveled Fiona with a meaningful look, before continuing. "I do not know why Sirius has chosen now to escape, but it would not be without logic to believe that perhaps, your father is not as insane as everyone has led us to believe. Because if your father, being the man that I once knew, was in his right mind - - or at lease near to it - - if he had somehow found out about you…that you existed…he would stop at nothing to see you, to speak with you." Fiona's eyes watered as the full weight of her uncle's words became clear. She glanced at him, and saw that his eyes were also watering; she had only seen her uncle cry twice before. When he spoke a moment later, Remus was shaking his head slowly. "You truly are your father's daughter, Fiona. I am afraid that if he saw you, he would try to take you. Tonight, I betrayed my promise to his, because you have to know what he is - - you have to be vigil. Your father's animagus for is a dog, Fiona. A very large black dog, that looks much like the grim. Do you know what the grim is, dear?" She nodded quickly. "He is nearly a replica. Please be careful; I could not bear to lose you too."

DRACO MALFOY LAUGHED, as Fiona slammed her head against the book shelf in front of her, for somewhere around the tenth time. They were - - yet again - - cataloguing the Restricted Section. The only difference between tonight and all of the other nights, was that Madam Prince was nowhere in sight. Shortly after Fiona had arrived a half hour late, with a note from her uncle excusing her tardiness, the librarian had informed the two students that she would be leaving the two alone to work. That had been hours ago; now, it was ten to midnight, and the two students were losing their motivation. As Fiona lumbered up the ladder for what felt like the hundredth time that evening, she paused when she felt a prickling sensation run along her spine. Quickly, she spun her head around, just in time to catch the Slytherin doing what suspiciously looked like staring at her butt. "Draco, what the hell?" The boy, who had not noticed her eyes on him, started for a moment, before his arrogant mask slid back into place. "What the hell, what?" His eyes slid up her torso, and finally came to rest on Fiona's face. For a moment, she was almost struck by the promise of how handsome the boy in front of her would one day be - - until she remembered that she was supposed to be outraged. _Oh, yeah_…she thought in a daze. "You know what you slimy little git! You were staring at my arse!" Draco rolled his eyes skyward, before chuckling. "Maybe I was, maybe I was not. What does it matter anyway? Take it as the compliment that it was, Fi." Fiona stared down at the blond boy from the ladder, with a flabbergasted look on her face. "Wait, did you just call me Fi?" Draco was piling his things back into his book bag, and Fiona realized then that he was readying himself to leave. Quickly, she climbed down the ladder to stand toe-to-toe with him. Draco raised an eloquent blond eyebrow at the wild haired girl in front of him. "And what if I did? I thought that that's what your friends called you." Fiona met his eyes, and felt herself smiling slightly. "Yeah, they do. But are you really my friend, Mister Malfoy?" The air between them suddenly felt charged; once again, a prickling sensation ran up Fiona's spine. They held each other's eyes for nearly a minute, before Draco finally looked away. "I suppose that that would be up to you to decide, wouldn't it Fi? Besides, it's nearly midnight; we have a date, remember? C'mon."

FIONA AND DRACO walked through the halls, nearly invisible to anyone who might have seen them. They were huddled together near the lake, crouched beneath a silken Shadow Cloak. Draco had pulled it out of his bag before they walked out off the library's double doors, with a passing remark about caution being better practiced than thought of. However, now that Fiona had seen - - and felt - - firsthand how close they had to stand together to both fit beneath the small cloak, she had begun to doubt the Slytherin boy's motives. She had caught him staring at her butt in the library, after all. "Draco, although I admire your cautionary measures, this is a bit ridiculous! We're outside the castle, for Merlin's sake! Besides, it's well past midnight, and we haven't passed a single person the whole way." In retrospect, Fiona realized just how strange it was that they hadn't passed anyone yet. Usually on Friday nights, teachers and prefects alike would be strolling the corridors, on the lookout for wayward students trying for a good time. Yet tonight, there had been no teachers, and no prefects. "Wait, Draco?" Fiona grabbed the boy's arm, halting his pace. He turned, and she felt his breath, hot against her cheek. It was too dark without their wands lit to really see each other. "What?" His voice was slightly breathless; the both were. Fiona cleared her throat. "Don't you find it a bit strange that we haven't passed anyone yet? It is a Friday, after all." She felt, more than saw, the boy in front of her frown. "I suppose it is. But there's nothing to do about that now; we're almost there."

Draco grabbed Fiona's hand in his, and began to lead her at a fast pace towards the Womping Willow. Fiona's stomach flipped at the contact, and felt herself smile despite her better judgment. Finally, they reached the massive tree, and Fiona's breath hitched in her throat. Besides her, Draco grinned as he pulled the cloak off of them. "What's the matter Black? Is the all mighty Gryffindor afraid of a tree?" Fiona glared at him, and punched him in the arm. The boy laughed as he rubbed the spot that she had struck. "That's what I thought. Here, help me find a rock." Fiona looked at him doubtfully. "Um, Draco? What are we doing? How is a rock going to keep the Willow from maiming us…?" Draco ignored her questions, and continued to shuffle through the grass, apparently, looking for a rock. "Ahha! Here we are! This one will do, alright." Draco turned to face Fiona, and gestured for her to follow him. She did so, and watched as Draco threw the small rock at the base of the tree. Instead of it being snatched out of the air by the massive tree, as Fiona had imagined would happen, the rock hit something, and the tree's movement's stilled. Fiona looked at Draco, with a wondrous expression on her face. It was the entrance to the tunnel that her and Ginny had seen on the map; it had to be. How did Draco know about it? "Draco, how in Merlin's name did you find this?" He grinned, ignoring her question, and once again grabbed her hand. "C'mon, Fi." She let him lead her for a moment, before she was suddenly struck by how infinite the night around them felt. She stopped walking, and Draco turned, a questioning look on his face. Fiona grinned at him, and made a sweeping gesture around them, before speaking in a singsong voice. "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep." They were the words off Fiona's favorite muggle poet, Robert Frost. When she was younger, Remus had read her his works as bedtime stories. Draco smiled at Fiona, and held out his hand to her once more. "I never knew that you cared for poetry." Fiona placed her hand in his, and they stood staring at each other for a moment. "You say that as if you do." The corner of Draco's mouth twitched, as though he was trying hard not to smile. "Perhaps that's because I do." For some reason, Fiona felt herself begin to blush - - a rare occurrence; unless she was around Draco, apparently. "It's Robert Frost. The quote, I mean. He was my mum's favorite." Fiona looked down at the base of the Willow, and saw that there was a small opening there. It was indeed, the tunnel. She raised her eyebrows at Draco, and he grinned. "Ladies first." Fiona snorted in an unladylike manner, and nodded once. "Fine, fine," is all that she said. She was trying hard not to think of the last time that she had blindly jumped down a tunnel; shaking her head, she pushed that fear away. She was safe with this boy; somehow, she knew this. Fiona let go of Draco's hand, and jumped.

IN THE DARK, a slight distance away from the tree that the two teens had just dove into, a set of grey eyes stared as the tree began to move again. Giving the two kids a few minutes to move through the tunnel, the massive black dog followed behind them discretely. Throughout the past few months, he had become very, very good at being unseen.

After twenty minutes of half-crouching through the tunnel, Fiona and Draco finally reached the end-of-the-road. "What now?" Fiona asked the blond boy quietly. "Up." He pointed up, and then traced his finger to the right. There, against the wall, Fiona spotted the metal ladder. "Up it is then." She climbed first, and he followed; after a moment of cursing and clumsiness, Draco had to maneuver himself next to her and force the ancient trapdoor open. As they climbed out, Draco finally lit the tip of his wand, and Fiona gasped. All at once, her bearings were back, and she realized just where exactly they were. "We're inside the Shrieking Shack!" Draco smiled at her, and rubbed the back of his neck. "You and your observational skills, Fi. They are truly astounding." Fiona laughed and slapped his arm lightly, causing him to rock with laughter. "Merlin, you are the most abusive witch that I've ever seen, you know that?" Again, she glared, but chose to ignore his comment this time. Looking around her, she tried to memorize the pictures on the walls, the worn spots on the floors, and the destroyed pieces of furniture. Finally, her eyes landed back on Draco, and she tried to also memorize his face like this - -smiling, his eyes shining, and his face open for once. It was a rare look on Draco Malfoy. "Draco, not that I'm not enjoying myself, but why in the bloody hell are we here?"

The boy in front of her took a breath, and let it out slowly. "I've never showed anyone this; you'll be the only person who knows. Just, whatever you do, please don't be frightened." Choosing not to elaborate on his words, Draco turned his back to Fiona, and strode ten steps in the other direction. Turning back to face her, Fiona began to ask what he was doing, when suddenly Draco changed. One moment, there was a boy standing there - - and then the next, there was a massive dragon stretching throughout the Shirking Shack's living room. As Fiona looked on at the creature before her in wonder, she realized that aside from it being, well, a dragon - - and also Draco - - there was something else strange about the creature. Fiona just couldn't quite place it. The spiked back… the forked tail…the deep eyes - - it was her Patronus.

"Oh my - -" Fiona was speechless. Obviously, Draco Malfoy was an unregistered animagus, but why was he the same exact dragon as her Patronus? Or would that be vice versa? Slowly, Fiona approached the hovering dragon. Holding her hand out cautiously, she closed the distance between herself and the creature. With cautious fingertips, she ran her hand along the spikes that adorn the dragon's back; Fiona was surprised to find that they were actually cold. Her gaze locked with the creature's - - with Draco's - - and she gave a disbelieving smile. All at once, he changed back, transforming once again into the handsome blond boy. He caught Fiona's hand - - which had been hovering above the dragon's jaw - - and held it. They stood like that for a moment, before Fiona finally withdrew her hand spoke, in a small voice. "Why?" Draco rolled his eyes skyward playfully, and sighed. "Why, what, Fi?" Fiona also rolled her eyes, and let out an exasperated noise. "Why did you show me this? And why in the bloody hell are you an animagus?"

The look that Draco gave her made Fiona's stomach flip; his eyes were too intense, staring into hers. "I told you Fiona. I wanted to make up for - - for what I did to you. For what I almost did." His voice was so thick with emotion that at first, Fiona could hardly understand what Draco had said. "I don't understand Draco." The Slytherin sighed, and ran a hand through his shoulder length hair. "You really are going to make this as difficult as possible, aren't you? Why I would have expected any less, who the bloody hell knows." Fiona watched the boy as he began to pace across the floor in front of her; he wore a troubled expression. "You aren't, by any chance, talking about what you said in your letter, are you Draco?" The boy stilled, and turned to look over his shoulder at her, with a bemused expression. _Merlin_, Fiona thought. _This boy was bloody bipolar._ "There it 'tis then. Has 'a' and 'b' finally equaled 'c'?" Although his voice was heavy with sarcasm, there was something floating in his eyes that betrayed his nervousness. "Um," Fiona said. "'A' and 'b' are somewhere in Cheshire right now, I think. I'm seeing the 'c' pretty clearly though, maybe." Fiona took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "Draco, are you trying to tell me that you have feelings for me?"

As the words slid out of her mouth, Fiona felt something change in the air between them. Something irrevocable was happing now, between the two students. Fiona watched as Draco took a step, and then another, towards her. Something was defiantly changing, and Fiona didn't know if she could, or even wanted, to stop it. "I'm saying that when I saw you laid out on the train, bleeding to death, it put some shite into perspective for me. We're young Fi, I understand that. But you have to understand, when I'm with you - - even when you are trying to hex my bleedin' balls off - - I actually feel something. You make me feel Fiona…I know that it sounds, I don't, dated - - but it's bloody true!I-I don't love you, we're both too young for that. But I can feel it in my bones…it would be so easy to love you; it terrifies me." After Draco finished his ramble, he stood there - - breathless and anxious - - his eyes fixed on the girl in front of him. To her embarrassment, Fiona could feel tears brimming in her eyes. Ginny had been right, of course; she always was, when it came to her best friend. Fiona had been head-over-heels for Draco Malfoy, since she had first spoken to him in Diagon Alley the summer before her first year. She had tried to deny it, to ignore it, even tried to feign interest in other boys. It had all been a lie though; because as Draco stood in front of her - - having just voiced her own feelings to a T - - she understood completely. What she had experienced just before jumping down the tunnel, the feeling of the night being infinite; Draco and her Patronous being identical; why she had needed to help him, even after he had nearly killed her on the train. It all made sense. _It would be so easy to love you, it terrifies me._

Words failed Fiona, as this epiphany hit her like a freight train. She closed the distance between them, and did the only thing that made sense to her. Leaning up on tippy-toes, Fiona brought the taller boy's head down to hers, as she softly placed her lips on his. It was actually the second kiss that Fiona and Draco had shared; their first was sloppy and quick, taking place in the Entrance Hall during her first year, after Draco had swore that she hadn't the guts to do it. This kiss was softer though, and slower. Their lips were unsure against each other, although through. Just as Draco's hand slid towards the small of her back, suddenly, a loud crashing sound came from the room next to them, breaking the two apart. "What was that?" Fiona's head spun around, and she thought that she caught the slightest movement in the shadows behind them. Draco wiped the back of his hand against his mouth, and shook his head. "I'm not sure." He drew his wand, and started in the direction that the noise had come from. Fiona stopped him though, holding an arm out across his chest. "Leave it Draco; I'm sure that it was nothing. It's almost three o'clock in the morning though, we really should get back to the castle before someone realizes that were gone…if they haven't already."

The boy still looked reluctant, but he nodded and began leading them back to the trapdoor nonetheless. They climbed through, and walked the distance back through the tunnel. The two walked in companionable silence, holding hands, and stealing glances at each other whenever they thought that the other wasn't looking. When they climbed back out of the Willow, Draco slid his Cloak over them with a small smile, before they started the trek back to the castle. When they reached the Great Hall, Fiona went to part ways, but Draco insisted on walking her to Gryffindor tower. He did, and when it finally came time to part ways both were reluctant to do so. Fiona spoke, with his hand clutched in hers. "Draco, I know that come tomorrow we probably aren't going to be holding hands and kissing. You have your friends, and I have mine, and all of that. We are both young, and neither of us are probably ready for what we could be." Draco looked at her with an arrogant expression, and raised his eyebrows. "Going somewhere with this, are we?" Fiona held up a hand, and continued. "But, no matter what shite happens between now and whenever the time is right, I just want to let you know that I'm not going anywhere." Draco leveled his eyes with her, and smiled as he leaned down to kiss her cheek. "That's good luv, because I'm not either."

SIRIUS BLACK CREPT silently through the trapdoor, unseen by the two children. He hid himself from sight in the shadows, and finally let himself study the girl before him. She wasn't very tall - - _must take after her mother_, he thought absently. Her jeans were quite worn - - the knees were blown completely out, and there were smaller rips and holes riddling the front and back of their thighs. He smiled when he saw that they were overly large bell-bottoms, just like her mother had always worn. Beneath her black jumper, she wore a thin strapped red shirt; including the newspaper article, this was the second time that he had seen her dressed in that type of shit. _She really must favor them_, he thought, making a mental note. She turned, allowing him to see her face, as she threw her head back and laughed while she swatted at the blond boy. He scowled slightly at their obvious flirtatious manner, but ignored it. He studied her face, and saw that her eyes were absolutely identical to his own; she had even inherited his long lashes. Her lips were full, with the bottom lip jutting out slightly, just as her mother's had. Her cheekbones were high, and her chin held the shadow of a cleft - - both of which, were identical to Sirius's. The final in the coffin that made the man's mind up about the legitimacy of this girl being his daughter, was her hair. It wasn't his color at all - - his hair was a deep, natural black - - hers was a lightly streaked chestnut color. However, her half-curling frizzed locks hung in a wild wave down her back; and that, was identical to his own hair. Unintentionally, Sirius raised a hand up and ran his fingers backwards through his hair.

As he watched, he heard the blond boy - - probably Lucious Malfoy's son, judging by the hair and the smirk - - say, "Whatever you do, please don't be frightened." Sirius had no idea what that was supposed to mean, and was just as shocked as the girl in front of him as they watched the boy transform into a dragon. _Well, that's a bit weird_, Sirius thought. It seemed almost impossible to him that a boy that couldn't possibly be even a fourth your had accomplished the difficult transformation, when he himself had found it so difficult as a fifth year. Sirius was so lost in his thoughts, that he barely noticed when the two teens began advancing towards each other. The young Malfoy was speaking in a quiet, urgent tone, and even as Padfoot, Sirius had to strain his ears to hear what he was saying. "…when you are trying to hex my bleedin' balls off - - I actually feel something. You make me feel Fiona…I know that it sounds, I don't, dated - - but it's bloody true!I-I don't love you, we're both too young for that. But I can feel it in my bones…it would be so easy to love you; it terrifies me."

_Wait…what?_ Sirius thought stupidly. Had he just stumbled upon a conversation in which Lucious Malfoy's bloody prodigy had just confessed his love - - more or less - - to _his_ daughter? Yup. Yeah, yup, it really seemed like. He shook his head violently, and inched slightly closer, straining his ears to their limit to avoid missing his daughter's response. _A Black and a Malfoy? Never! Er, never again, anyway_, Sirius silently corrected himself. Whatever he might have expected, though, could not have prepared him for what the girl in front of him did. A slap, a good ol' punch, maybe even a well thought out curse - - these were the reactions that the man had expected from his daughter. Or at least, the idea that the man had of his daughter. None of these actions happened though, and Sirius was left to watch is fascinated horror as his daughter - - who in his mind, would have been sweet, innocent, and afraid of bloke's until she was forty - - leaned forward and pulled Malfoy into an entirely too mature kiss. In the shadows, Sirius blanched, and used his teeth to grab the leg of an old chair that was sitting nearby on the dust encrusted floor. Pulling in a sharp breath, the canine chucked it with all of his might, causing it to go flying into the nearby dining room and nock another old piece of furniture over. What he had not thought of, was that children in front of him would turn around at the sudden noise. At some point, he had come forward out of the shadows, and was nearly entirely in the room. He scurried into the dining room and hid himself behind one of the long drapes. Straining his ears once again, he heard his daughter say, "…get back to the castle before someone realizes that were gone…if they haven't already." Sirius internally sighed, and shifted back into his human form. This had been a very, very long night.

FIONA DRESSED IN her same worn jeans from the night before, her trainers, a thin strapped black shirt, and her Weird Sister's jumper from the night before, as well. Combing her fingers through her hair, she stumbled down to the Great Hall in a state of half-awake. The halls were eerily empty for a Saturday, just as the grounds had been, the night before. Fiona was too tired to contemplate it though, and instead stuffed her hands into her jumper's pockets and stared at the floor. As she opened the Hall's doors though, she was immediately hit with a barrage of shouts and exclamations sounding throughout the entire hall. Fiona could only blink, once, and then again, as her friends and teachers alike flocked over and surrounded her. "Fiona, what happened?" This was Hermione, always the first to solve a mystery. "Miss Black, where in the name of Merlin have you been?" This came from a thin lipped Professor McGonagall. "Fi, are you bloody alright? I've been worried sick about you!" This came from Ginny, and Fiona furrowed her brow as she focused on her. Around them, the small mob that had developed, but Fiona ignored their shouts and inquisitions as she tried to understand what was going on. "Gin, what are you talking about? Why would something be wrong?" Fiona didn't understand; Ginny had known that Fiona was going to meet up with Draco. Sure, they had been out quite late, but still, she didn't see why everyone was so upset.

"Did you see him Fi? Was he as deranged as they say that he is? Do you think that you could help me snag a picture of him?" This all came in a high-pitched rush from Colin Creevy, her and Ginny's mutual friend. Fiona looked between her two friends, with a growing expression of confusion. "What the fuck are you talking about?" Fiona's voice was sharp enough, that small exclamations and gasps sounded throughout the crowd around her. "Fi…you really don't know, do you? Your dad was here last night; he attacked the Fat Lady and broke into Gryffindor tower. During the evacuation, no one could find you…everyone just assumed the worst." Ginny gave her fried a sympathetic look, and took her hand. She began leading her away from the crowd, but was stopped just outside of the circle by the Deputy Headmistress. "Miss Black, I cannot let you out of my sight until you tell me exactly where you were last night." Fiona looked at the woman with a blank face, that matched her suddenly blank mind. The Professor was growing visibly impatient, and Fiona was just about to throw a concocted lie at her, when she was saved by Draco's sudden appearance, next to her.

"Professor McGonagall, this is all my fault. Last night, during our detention I said something terribly inappropriate to Black. She got upset and ran out of the library, and hid in one of the old classrooms in the West Wing. It took me ages to find her, and I sort of realized that I was in the wrong. Once I found her, we talked for hours…Came to a bit of a truce, didn't we Fi?" He looked sharply at the girl standing next to him, and she nodded solemnly at the Headmistress. By this time, the crowd had grown, and Remus, Snape and Dumbledore were all now standing at the Headmistress's back. They all had their eyes glued to the two students in front of them, and their expressions varied from disbelief, to annoyance, to delight. "Mister Malfoy, do you really expect for me to believe this load of hogwash? This is - -" The Transfiguration teacher's rant was cut short by the Headmaster stepping forward, and exclaiming loudly. "This is positively delightful news! Not only are both of our missing students safe, but they are also promoting inter-house relations between students! Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!" As the Headmaster began to lead the teachers away from the students, he shot the two students a mischievous wink. Draco and Fiona shared an amused look, before Draco looked pointedly at his watch. "Well, we're a bit late for detention. Hopefully ol' Prince will be merciful." Fiona laughed at his look of mock terror, and together, they made their way to the library.

THE GROUND WAS growing closer and closer to Fiona, as her broom raced towards the grass of the Quidditch pitch. Fiona waited until the last possible second, leaving only a few feet between her broom and the ground, before pulling up with all of her might. Her Firebolt swiftly came up out of the dive, and the bludger that had been trailing Fiona crashed into the ground with an enormous impact. She doubled back, and swopped it up from the crater that it had left in the ground. In a smooth motion, Fiona lifted her bat and cracked it against the bludger's surface. The ball went sailing with unearthly speed through the air. Fiona watched as it headed straight at it's target - - George - - and hit him square in his stomach, causing him to double over in pain and miss his shot at the quaffle. Across the pitch, Fred and Harry cheered as they saw Fiona's move succeeded in giving Fred a clear shot, and he scored right as Harry caught the snitch. Fiona shrieked in excitement as her team won the game that she, Ginny, Ron, Harry and the twins had been having. That was the third consecutive time, and judging by the looks on her opponents' faces, it was the last time. "That was bloody ridiculous Fi; you murdered us! How are you not on the house team?" This was from a red faced Ron, who was angry at loosing - - as usual - - but excited at Fiona's skills. "That would be because she hasn't ever tried out." This came from Ginny, who was half-covered in dirt, grinning as she slung an arm over her best friend's shoulders. Fred and George came up next to them, and joined in on the conversation. "Why ever not, dearest Fiona?" Fred said this in a singsong voice. "Why indeed, she would obviously make it." George raised his eyebrows at Fiona, who was trying to push her windblown hair out of her face. "I was going to try out this year, but I haven't because I wouldn't bee able to practice, because of my detentions." The twins looked at each other, and laughed. "Oh, is that all?" They chorused. "We can get ol' Ollie to work around that dearest! You'd be what made our team this year, I think." Fiona looked between the two, and tried to determine how serious they really were. "Do you really think that I could work around that?" Her voice was hopeful as she looked between the two boys. "Absolutely," said Geroge. "Positively," said Fred. "We'll talk to him tonight at dinner; he's been pulling his hair out trying to find a beater to replace Simms. This will be perfect!" Ginny looked at Fiona, and stuck her tong out at her friend. "Told you so."

It was later afternoon now; Fiona had just only managed to get some time in on her broom after that afternoon's detention. She and Ginny had broken away from the boys; they were now walking out of the Pitch. As they walked, Fiona spotted a group in front of the approaching the Pitch. Taking a closer look, she realized that it was what must have been the Slytherin house team, judging by the colors of their uniforms. The two groups passed at the same time, and Fiona spotted Draco in the middle of the group. He was smirking the trademark Malfoy smirk, but when his eyes locked with hers it softened into a smile that reached all the way up to his eyes. He inclined his head at her, and she grinned back at him. The other Slytherins paid no mind to the young Gryffindor's, and they thankfully missed the small interaction between the two. Ginny waited almost a full minute after they had walked past the Slytherins to take her best friend's by the hands and let out a piecing shriek. Fiona grinned at her antics, and laughed as they began jumping up and down in excitement. "That was so bloody sweet, he's completely in love with you Fi!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary**: Welcome to the life of Fiona Black. Hardly normal on a good day, but now that her father has escaped Azkaban, she has begun to wonder if her life will ever return to normal. What secrets will she discover? And will she be able to keep her own secrets hidden? This story is slightly AU, with my OC, lots of Ginny, a bit of Draco, lots of Remus, and of course, Padfoot.

**Disclaimer**: I own none of this. If I did, then I would be the one rollin' in the mad cash. Instead, the greatness that is Missus J.K. Rowling is. Oh well, onward towards this meager fan's fiction!

Also, the whole 'game' idea…it's from one of my favorite books, I just can't recall exactly which one. I'm fairly certain, though, that it belongs to Sarah Dessen…also pretty sure that it's from her incredibly cute book _The Truth About Forever_. So yeah, whoever the hell it belongs to, the idea isn't mine. Just don't sue me! On that note, if anyone actually does know which book the game thing is from, please let me know. Thanks bunches.

**A/N:** Many thanks to **jazzmyne16**, for finally popping my review cherry! I danced, I laughed; I did a shot and a happy dance. It was all very memorable :D More reviews, please! Anyone? Everyone? They motivate me to be a good little author…I'll update frequently *wiggles eyebrows suggestively*

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**Chapter Five: The Wrong Way**

WEEKS PASSED, AND the last lingering threads of warmth seeped out of the weather. Fiona was struggling to keep up with detentions, spend time with Ginny, and practice Quidditch; this was made all the more difficult with her thoughts constantly straying to her father and, f course, to Draco. Since the night that he took her to the Shirking Shack, things had, indeed, changed between the two of them. They had developed a habitual routine. Every weeknight, they left the Great Hall together heading for the library; just as every Saturday morning, they would meet outside off the library's doors, Draco holding two cups of coffee - - one black and the other syrupy with sugar - - and Fiona bearing biscuits, or sometimes bagels. Detentions had become less of a punishment, and more of a Q & A session. As they catalogued the Restricted Section's infinite supply of texts, they would take turns asking each other every imaginable question. It had become their game, a kind of private joke that no one else was even aware of, and in this game there was only one rule: always answer. There were no penalties, no fouls, and no consequences. No answer meant that the game was over, and that really just wasn't an option to either of them; the game was everything. So as they un-shelved, sorted, stacked, documented, and re-shelved the Section's thousands of books, their bodies worked automatically, as their minds were focused on the game.

"Have you ever fallen off your broom?" Fiona asked him this, as he handed her a ridiculously heavy leather-bound text. _Malicious Ends: A Wizards Tale of Murder_, the silver script on the cover read. Fiona rolled her eyes, and logged the book. She handed it back to Draco, and he placed it back on the shelf as he answered. "Twice…assuming that only the memorable falls count." Fiona took the next book that he was offering to her with a grin, "They do. So what happened?" Draco climbed down the ladder, and moved it a foot to the right. "The first time, I was flying in our courtyard during a rain storm. I think that I must have only been about five, because I know that it was the wind blowing that made me fall. Mum was pissed when she saw that I had gotten my robes wet." Fiona giggled at the image of a miniature scowling Draco, drenched and wet, having to explain to his mother why his robes were soaked. Draco gestured for her to climb up the ladder, and she complied, sticking her tong out at him along as she lumbered up the steps. "So if that was the first time, then what was your second?" She asked, as she handed him a palm-sized green book, with the picture of a grave stone on the front. Draco logged the book, and handed it back to her. "The second time was the summer before my second year. It actually happened the evening of the day that we first met in Diagon Alley - - do you remember that? Yeah well - - later that evening I was flying around the estate. I didn't hear Mipsey - - that's my House Elf - - when she called me inside for supper…father took it personally, and when he found me out flying instead of washing up for dinner he sent a Curcio my way - -" As he said this, Fiona gasped, and dropped the massive text she was in the middle of handing him in shock. It fell, and landed with a dull - -

THUNK!

- - directly on Draco's foot. "Owwww! What the bloody hell was that for?" He looked up at the girl with an outraged scowl on his face, as he thrust the offending book at her. She blushed deeply, and took it from his hand. "S-sorry. It's just…what in Merlin's name would your father curse you with an Unforgiveable just because you didn't hear the call for dinner?" She climbed down the ladder, and Draco climbed up in her place, brushing his hand along her back as he passed her. "My father is not a forgiving - - or understanding - - sort of bloke. In his mind, I was being disrespectful, and to him that warrants the most severe punishment. An Unforgiveable, coupled with the soddin' broken arm and cracked rib that I obtained during the fall, was what he considered 'suitable punishment'." As he spoke, his voice was even - - it betrayed none of the emotions that Fiona saw swimming in them.

In the game, no subject was too heinous to become a question. During the past few weeks, they had found out who could swim - - Draco - - and who could not - - Fiona - - and that neither one of them liked apples. Fiona had discovered that Draco didn't really have any ill feelings towards Harry Potter, he just felt obligated to mess with him - - "Everyone worships the git; it feels good to screw with him." Likewise, Draco found that Fiona had a burning hatred of Pansy Perkinsons - - "She looks at you like she wants to eat you, the cow." They knew each other's favorite colors, foods, muggle movies, books, classes, and candies. Fiona had found out everything that she could about Draco's life, just as he had with her. The game was just a farce; they hid behind it to mask the truth. Of course they weren't obsessed with each other; they were just playing a game to pass the time they spent in detentions. One thing about the game though; their unspoken second rule: no questions about their fathers.

Fiona looked up at the Slytherin boy as he re-shelved the book, and ran fingers through her hair. Her face was guarded, as she crossed her arms beneath her chest. She had known first-hand just how cruel Lucious Malfoy was; he had slipped Ginny the diary, for Merlin's sake! She had known this, but she had never really stopped to consider the possibility that his cruelty might not have been limited to those outside of his family.

FIONA YAWNED, AS she stared down the long line of Hogwarts students waiting to walk through the gates. There were hundreds of them, and it was her responsibility to keep track of all of their comings and goings. The first Hogsmead weekend was always held on the sixth week of the term, or so she had been informed by the Deputy Headmistress that morning. As such, the early morning air was cold, and stung as it hit Fiona in the face. Above her, the sky - - which should have been brightening - - was growing ever darker. Fiona sighed and pulled her duster closer around herself - - all signs indicated snow, which meant that it was going to be a very long morning, indeed. As the remainder of the students destined for Hogsmeade finally finished arriving, the wind kicked up with a wicked force, bringing with it flecks of ice. Stray strands of chestnut hair, that had fallen out of the lose bun she had contained it in that morning, violently whipped against her face, causing her scowl to deepen. As she continued to be bombarded by the grueling winds, she realized all at once how improperly she had dressed for the weather. She was wearing the thinner pair of her trainers; she had bought them from a muggle clothing shop, where they were advertised as being Converse©. She also had on her most worn pair of jeans, which didn't have the knees and various parts of the thighs were blown out. Under her duster, she had on one of her many thin-strapped shirts; today, it was blue. Really, the only even slightly practical thing she wore was the sliver scarf around her neck, considering that even her jacket was inadequate for the weather.

Not far from where she stood - - leaning with arms and ankles crossed, against the wrought iron gates of Hogwarts - - Professor McGonagall, who had been speaking with Fitch, cleared her throat and turned to face the mass of students chattering before her. Straightening her back, and raising to her full height, she unrolled the parchment that she had clutched in her hand. Clearing her throat and leveling the crowd with one of her trademark stern looks, she began to read. "This year, the Hogsmeade trips will prove to be different than any others you may have experienced before. Due to the current state off things - -" various mummers sounded throughout the crowd, and suddenly hundreds of eyes fixed themselves on Fiona. She fought the urge to squirm as a single name spread through the crowd like a wild fire: Sirius Black. "- - silence, please! Now, as a safety precaution, Dementors have been stationed at various points in and around Hogsmeade. Please, consider yourselves as forewarned when I tell you to give the creatures absolutely no provocation. They cannot - - nor would they if they could - - differentiate between a wayward student, and an insane criminal." The woman rolled the parchment back up, and slid it into an inside pocket of her robe. Fiona stared unseeingly at the Transfiguration Professor, as her uncle's warning flashed through her head. _Perhaps he isn't as insane as they say he is…he would stop at nothing to see you._

Fiona was pulled from her thoughts as she realized that the Professor had began to speak again. "- - time in is at five o'clock sharp this evening, and any students that fail to return at this time will be dealt with in a most severe fashion." Fiona rolled her eyes behind the woman's back, as she produced a ledger and quill from her nearby book bag. She poised it in the crook of her arm, as one-by-one, students passed in front of her. Name, house, year, and time-out. It was monotonous work, and within the first teen minutes she began to wish that had decked Snap a bit worse, just so that their suffering could be considered equal. "Name?" She didn't bother looking up from her ledger by this point; as she spoke, she tried to muster friendliness into her voice, but it came out as more of a bored drawl. The voice in front of her drawled too, this one in a cold, but sarcastic tone. "Malfoy, Draco. That's Draco with an 'o', in case you were wondering." Fiona looked up and grinned. Draco stood a few feet away from her, wearing dark jeans and a long black coat. His hat and scarf were both a deep forest green; their contrast to his eyes caused them to look more turquoise than the bright blue that they usually were. Her grin only widened, as her eyes landed on the two cups of coffee he held in his hands. "Coffee?" He smiled, and nodded slightly as he handed it to her. She shifted the ledger a bit, and accepted it gratefully. "I didn't figure that you'd have had enough time to snag any from the kitchens, so I grabbed you one on my way out. It, er…it seemed like a coffee day, ya know? I mean, I wanted some soddin' coffee, so ya know, I thought that maybe you would too." Fiona smiled coyly, and nodded. "Well, I do love coffee…so thank you." The blond boy shot her a quick, slightly embarrassed smile. "I hope that you don't have to be out here for too long; the weather seems to be turning a bit dreadful."

Fiona scrunched up her face, and nodded quickly. "You and me both…oh, I should probably let you go; we seem to be holding up the line a bit." She had finally glanced around them - - Draco had a way of making her forget about the rest of the world - - and realized that they were receiving glares from many of the hundreds of students. Draco looked, and seemed to realize it as well. "Oh yeah, right - - bugger. It's really a shame that you can't come into Hogsmeade; it'd be nice to spend a bit of time together. Doing something other than playing with dusty old books, that is." Fiona laughed, and looked at the boy with mock curiosity. "But Draco, whatever else would we be playing with, if not musty books?" They Slytherin chocked on the sip of coffee that he had taken, and turned a bit pink. "Er - - it was good seeing you Fi. Enjoy your coffee…" He walked away, and through the gates, shaking his head and muttering about something indistinguishable.

Fiona bit back a laugh, as she turned her attention back to the line. Name…house…year…time...name….house….year….time….name….house…year…time…. As she stood there, the wind blew harder, and ice became snow. The morning drug by slowly; her only bright point was when McGonagall deemed it too cold to remain outside, and left. At least Fiona didn't have anyone hovering around her anymore. After an hour of steady streaming students, the end of the line was finally in sight. "Name?" Fiona looked up at the boy in front of her, and cocked an eyebrow. "Fi, you bloody well know you I am!" The indignant red head sputtered at her. "Name….?" The bushy haired girl next to the youngest Weasley giggled, and shoved him aside. "Names, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. Gryffindor third years, time out, ten o-five." Fiona smiled warmly at her, and winked. "Why thank you Miss Granger. I'm glad that someone can follow simple instructions." Ron sputtered again, as his face reddened. Fiona rolled her eyes at him, and spotted a sulking Harry Potter standing nearby, watching his two best friends sullenly. Hermione's eyes followed Fiona, and she sighed worriedly. When Harry approached the group a moment later, his two best friends looked at him nervously. "Really mate, Hermione and I could stay here. It wouldn't be any sort of trouble." Harry sighed, and looked down at the ground. "No, it's not you guy's fault that I can't go into Hogsmeade. Better luck next time, and all of that rubbish. Really, guys, just go and have fun." Hermione still looked unconvinced, even though Ron was already inching towards the gate. "Harry - -" Fiona interrupted, having just realized that the two Gryffindor's were the last students in line. "Hermione, go. Harry will survive a few moments without you, I promise. You can keep me and Gin some company, can't you mate?" The dark haired boy looked startled by her interjection, but Hermione beamed. "Oh, what a lovely idea Fi! Harry, try to have fun, will you? See you later!"

As the bushy haired girl hurried away towards Ron, Harry stood rooted to the spot, a look of mild horror upon his face. Fiona snorted, and looked at her watch. She and Ginny had arranged to meet in the West Wing at a quarter of ten; they'd have to hurry. She knelt down, and shoved the ledger and her quill back into her bag. Shouldering it, she looked at Harry, who was looking at his feet. "C'mon Har; we need to hurry. Mustn't be late for something like this, ya know?" Harry looked up, with a confused expression on his face. "Late? I don't think that I understand." Fiona grinned, and shook her head. "No," she said with a laugh. "You wouldn't, would you? Come on, I'll tell you along the way."

xxXxx

TWO HOURS LATER, three young teens stood around the outskirts of the Shrieking Shack. Fiona looked at her best friend, and the dark haired boy standing beside her. Harry had a drokey, extactic grin across his face; as she watched, she saw Ginny steal a glance at him. Fiona smiled at her obvious feelings, and bit back a giggle. "I'd kill to take a look around inside that place." Harry spoke with a whimsical expression on his face. Ginny looked at Fiona, with raised eyebrows. Of course Fiona had been inside the Shack; she only knew the way from Hogwarts grounds, though. Fiona shook her head at her friend, and mouthed the word 'later'. Ginny smiled brightly, and nodded at her friend. Fiona turned, and looked around the small circle that they stood in. "Well mates, now that we've gotten here...what should we do?" Harry looked at Fiona, and Ginny looked back at Harry. They had all been so excited to finally be in Hogsmead, that none of them had even thought about what they had wanted to do once they got there. The three teens stood like that for a moment, before falling into a fit of laughter. "Well then," Ginny said, wiping tears from her eyes. "How does The Three Broomsticks sound to everyone?"

xxXxx

DRACO'S EYES WIDENED as his eyes met Fiona's. He watched, as she sat down at a table with The Weasley girl - - and Harry bloody Potter. The young Slytherin scowled, as she laughed at something that the dim-witted dark haired boy said. Why in the name of Merlin's balls was she spending time with that little toe rag? His scowl deepened, as his muscles tensed in anger. Was he jealous? He stared at the laughing threesome, he realized that he was indeed jealous. Fiona was his, wasn't she? Why would she have snuck out of Hogwarts just to spend time with the bleedin' scare head? She should be sitting at his table with her annoying little friend; not Potter's! He growled, and jumped up from the table that he had been sharing with his unwanted lackeys, Crabb and Goyle. Ignoring their moronic questions, he stalked over to the table on the other side of the room. As he approached, Fiona looked up from the conversation that she had been having with the boy and girl across from her. She looked up at him with an excited grin on her face, which quickly became a questioning look as she registered the irrate expression on her - - what, boyfriend? - - on Draco's face.

"Well, now. What have we got here? Merlin's balls, it looks to me like the all great and powerful - - the wonderfully wonderful - - Harry bloody Potter, having a nice little brunch with none other than - - oh, wow; Merlin's balls - - my most wonderfully bloody wonderful girlfriend, Miss Fiona. Care to fill me in on why - - exactly - - you're sitting here, HERE, in bleedin' Hogsmead! With soddin' Harry bloody Potter!"

"Draco, what in the bloody hell is wrong with you? We're just having lunch!"

"Why aren't you having your soddin' lunch with me, you little trollop? Riddle me that, Black!"

Fiona reeled back as though she had been struck; both Harry and Ginny sputtered and made as though they would stand, but she beat them to it. Fiona propelled herself up from the table, knocking the chair that she had been occupying over. She stood toe-to-toe with the boy; both of their faces were bright red, and their breathing ragged.

"A trollop, Draco? That's what you think of me?" Her grey eyes were dark, and flashed dangerously as she said this. Around them, the entirety of the cafe's occupants had stopped what they were doing to look on at the scene playing out before them. The young Slytherin swallowed as his face contorted into what it used to be; the hateful glare and tight sneer were back in place, almost as if they had never left.

"Obviously I'm not the only person that you've been sneaking around dark corridors with. You know Black, I've heard that you were a harlot, which obviously you are, so are all of the other rumors true too? Is it you that's been helping that father of yours into the castle after all? Well then, how about your mother? Is it her that you take after? I always figured that Professor Snape just said that; but - -"

Fiona, who had stood transfixed by Draco's words - - rooted to the spot with a look of the deepest hurt painted across her face - - finally broke out of her daze. She pushed the blond boy - - hard - - making him stumble back. With an enraged sneer that closely resembled a bearing of teeth, she grabbed her ever-present bag, and headed for the door. As she reached it, she turned and called over her shoulder to the boy who was staring after her with an unreadable expression fitted across his features.

"You're a fucking sodd, Malfoy."

xxXxx

"FIONA, WAIT PLEASE?" Ginny and Harry ran, hurrying to catch up with the wild haired girl. They had left Hogsmead by this point; they had almost reached the statue. As they ran, they watched the Witch's hump open, and then close. The sudden light had momentarily blinded the two; Ginny stumbled. Out of reflex, Harry's hand shot out and steadied her, keeping her from falling backwards. Their eyes met, and they shared an embaressed smile.

"Do'ya think that maybe we should leave Fi alone, for a bit?" Ginny put on a worried look, and scrunched up her face.

"I am really not bloody sure. I just still can't believe that soddin' Malfoy did that - - said that!"

"I can't believe that Fiona was dating him! I mean, that's just...bloody well not normal." They had now climbed out of the statue's hump, and stood beside it in the corridor. As Harry said this, Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Harry, sometimes you are so unbelievably thick. Fiona is head over soddin' heals in love with that Slytherin git."

The dark haired boy furrowed his eyebrows, and shook his head.

"But, Gin, that's just...how could...I mean...wow. That's just bloody strange."

Ginny smiled grimly, and shrugged.

"Strange or not, they really have something. Or at least had it; Malfoy really buggered things up."

xxXxx

THREE WEEKS HAD passed, and Fiona was yet to so much as glance at the Slytherin. And this was quite a feat to achieve, seeing as how they served detentions together. Outside of detentions, the girl had become an expert at evasion. With the discrete use of the Map, Fiona knew exactly which halls that she could walk through to avoid the blond boy. At meals, Fiona would duck out of sight in a nearby hall, while Ginny would go ahead of her and enter the hall. She, then, would glance towards the Slytherin table. If Draco was there, then Fred would go out to the hallway, with a shrunken plate of food held lightly in his hand; if he was not, the it was George out there, giving her the go-ahead. Quidditch wasn't too hard to work around, because although the Slytherin team changed their practice schedule to suit Draco, Oliver Wood had chosen a different method for including Fiona in the Gryfindor's practice. Instead of changing the team's practice routine, she had been instructed to practice privately with any available teammate.

It was by following this schedule, that led Fiona to chucking bludgers at Harry Potter's grinning face at four-thirty in the morning.

"Oi, watch it Fi! You nearly took my head off with that last one!"

She grinned, and slammed her bat against yet another one of the potentially deadly playing balls. With another swish, a bludger was launched at the dark haired boy. This time, he was not so lucky to dodge it; the ball hit him square in the chest. His broom flipped, but he held on.

"Merlin's arse, woman! Are you intentionally trying to kill me?" Harry rubbed at his chest, with a grimace. Fiona laughed, and punched the boy in the arm. He ducked back from the blow, and staged terror. "Please, please don't kill me! You abusive, deranged, madly insane woman! Please do not hurt me!" Fiona clutched her ribs, as the boy in front of her whimpered. "You are rediculious! I am _so_ not abusive!"

By this time, they had already been practicing for a few hours. The previous night, Fiona had not been able to sleep. Thoughts of Draco, her father, and the mystery of the Marauders - - she still did not understand what had happened to Peter Pettigrew - - plagued her mine incessantly. Unable to sleep, she had dressed in a pair of thick sweats and a matching black jumper, and thrown her broom over a shoulder at four in the morning. Her intentions had been to practice her hits for a few hours, until she was ready to head to the Hall for breakfast. It was a Saturday, which meant that she would be spending her morning in the library with Draco. As she had descended the stairs however, she had seen that there was one other person who was already awake in the tower. Ever since their secret trip into Hogsmeade, Fiona and Harry had become almost-friends. They never really went out of their way to see or speak with each other, but any time that they did end up together they got along famously. Harry had apparently been unable to sleep as well, and much like her, quidditch had sounded like an excellent alternative to sleep.

Now the two teens stood on the grass, a few feet inside off the quidditch pitch. Fiona straightened her ponytail, as Harry looked at his watch.

"Well," he said with a glance at the sky. The sun had risen almost two hours prior.

"Do you suppose we had ought to head down to breakfast?"

Fiona stretched her arms above her head, and yawned widely. Shouldering her broom, she bobbed her head and looked towards the castle.

"Probably should, I need to eat something so that I'll have something to puke up when I see Draco."

Harry looked at her sharply with his eyebrows raised.

"So you still haven't spoken to him yet, then?"

She shook her head as they began to walk towards the castle.

"Let's put it this way: if Draco had grown five extra heads, I'd have never known."

xxXxx

DRACO WATCHED AS Fiona walked into the Great Hall with Scare Head once again. Ever since that day in The Three Broomsticks, she had seemed to be trying - - and succeeding - - at pretending that he didn't exist. So far, all that the treatment had accomplished in doing was making him wish that he in fact did not exist. He had a theory that it was all some very tactful female mind-game, but then, these days Draco _was_ spending a bit too much time buy himself. It was obvious that the two of them had been out on the quidditch pitch; Potter was wearing a set of Gryffindor sports robes, and Fiona was wearing a black sweat suite with a white undershirt. As he watched, she removed the jumpper, and draped it across her seat. Even from across the room, Draco saw the way that her chest strained across the fabric of the shirt. Draco realized that he was staring, and quickly looked away. Heat rose to his cheeks, and he shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable. Stabbing his fork into his eggs, he tried to make himself listen to the moronic story that Goyle was regaling the table with. Goyle managed to capture his attention for perhaps a solid moment, before his eyes strayed once again towards the Gryffindor table.

Ginny was talking to Fiona, and Fiona was gesturing widely to a set of red haired twins, who he suspected to be Weasleys. The boys laughed, as Fiona threw her arms into the air and dove out of her seat onto the floor. By the looks of their animated talk, it seemed like they were recounting some kind of quidditch play. He almost smiled, watching as the wild haired girl pulled herself back onto the bench, her face mouth widening to display an enchanting smile as she laughed. However, reality set back in, and Draco realized that he had no reason to smile. Fiona hated him, all because he was a jealous git. He had insulted her - - called her terrible names - - and her family. Worst of all, was that he hadn't meant a single word of what he had said; all that he had wanted to do was hurt her, and now he saw that really, all that he had done was hurt himself.

_I can feel it in my bones... _

The girl sitting across the hall from her had somehow become embedded into his heart; without her around, he was less than empty. The warm, electric feeling that he got, even just when their eyes met, was gone. Everything was his fault, but damned if he knew the right bloody way to fix it.

* * *

**A/N**: Whew! That chapter was absolutely PAINFUL. How did we like the Draco PoV's? Something about Hogsmeade gave me writer's block, sumthin' fierce. Sorry that this chap. is so short, but, Gawd! The idea was there, but nothing was going the way that I wanted. Hopefully we likey? Love it, hate it? REVIEW! I need some damn input!


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